LOBSTERS COST FISHERMAN £1000 Douglas Smith, of 12 Angle, Pembroke appeared before the court on 11 May where it was heard that Fishery Officers of South Wales Sea Fisheries Committee had boarded his fishing boat ‘Canny Boy’ on the 3rd October 2005 where they found 3 lobsters amongst 13 on board to be below the Byelaw minimum size of 90mm. A further search of a storage pot in the Haven near Angle revealed another 3 undersized and one protected V-notched lobster. Smith told the court he had entrusted the measurement of the lobsters to a Lithuanian crewman but accepted responsibility and apologised to the court. Whilst giving credit for an early guilty plea, the Magistrates fined the defendant £400 for the undersized lobsters and £600 for the V-notched lobster. They further ordered payment of £120 prosecution costs. Speaking after the case, a Committee spokesman welcomed the deterrent level of the penalties, in particular in respect of the V-notched lobster. “The Committee is currently in the second of a three year £336,000 EU grant aided programme to bolster the spawning stocks of lobster off the South Wales coast whereby female lobsters are purchased from fisherman and then released with a ‘V’ shaped notch cut in their tails. Our byelaws prohibit the taking of these lobsters which represent an increasingly significant source of eggs and juveniles. It is vital these lobsters are released when caught and allowed to breed ” he said “and we are pleased that the Court has taken this action in support of all long term lobster fishermen”. NOTE TO EDITORS:
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