An English court fined two Irish fishermen £240,000 (€374,000) for tampering with satellite transmitters so they could fish undetected in Cornish waters.
Eric Murphy and Donal O'Neill, both from Castletownbere, Co Cork, deliberately cut off contact with the fishing authorities while they trawled for mackerel in a protected zone near Falmouth in Cornwall.
Truro Crown Court heard that Murphy, 32, and O'Neill, 44, unscrewed satellite antennae on three occasions to disable the signal before embarking on night-time pair trawling trips.
They then caught mackerel - a protected species -in waters where fishing is restricted to protect spawning grounds.
Under EU legislation it is compulsory for fishing vessels to have satellite transmitters on board. They send an automatic hourly signal to fishing authorities stating the vessel's location.
Judge Nicholas Vincent told the men they had been found guilty of a "concerted attempt" to get around fishing regulations.
Murphy and O'Neill pleaded not guilty to three counts each of failing to maintain contact with fishing authorities. They also pleaded not guilty to three counts each of falsifying official log sheets of their catch.
The fishermen were each fined £120,000 and ordered to pay £4,000 each in costs.