The Spanish skipper of an Irish-registered vessel was fined £14,000 at Cork Circuit Criminal Court yesterday for exceeding his monthly hake quota. The Bylgia was detained by the Irish Naval Service about 20 miles south of the Fastnet Rock, off the Cork coast on May 12th. A search of the vessel recovered 7,338 lbs of fish and gear worth£4,290.
Skipper Jose Benito Bretal Sierra pleaded guilty to exceeding his quota of fish but said that he had believed the quota to be in the region of four tonnes. Sierra acknowledged being in breach of Section 233 of the Fisheries Consolidation Act 1959 and apologised to the court for the incident. Judge A.G. Murphy ordered that Sierra's fishing gear be confiscated until the fine is paid. The vessel is owned by Mr Owen Keane, of Dingle, Co Kerry.
