UNDERSIZED LOBSTERS IN PEMBROKESHIRE Haverfordwest Magistrates adjudicated on matters brought before them by South Wales Sea Fisheries Committee on Monday 2 March. In the first case, Christopher John Allen of 1 Fidre Gongol, Fishguard pleaded guilty to taking undersized lobsters at Neyland on 19 October last year. Fishery Officers found 15 lobsters below the 90mm minimum size in a catch numbering 64 of the crustaceans. In mitigation Mr Allen mentioned he had an inexperienced crewman at the time and had now changed his procedures to ensure lobsters were measured as soon as they came on board. He was fined £400 and ordered to pay costs of £100 plus £15 victim surcharge. In the other case, Douglas Gwyn Hook of Hare Steps, Reynalton, Kilgetty pleaded guilty to charges of taking 9 undersized lobsters and 14 undersized edible crab on his boat which was boarded by Fishery Officers from the Committee’s Patrol Vessel in the Milford Haven waterway near Sandyhaven on 8 October 2008. The lobster gauge in use on the vessel was out of date and applied a historic size of 87mm although 3 of the lobster failed even this lesser test. Hook told the magistrates he had employed a German crewman whose poor English had led him to misunderstand the skipper’s instructions. Hook was fined £400 and ordered to pay £100 costs plus a £15 victim surcharge. A spokesman for the Committee welcomed the support of the Magistrate’s Court in supporting the byelaws which were designed to ensure the orderly regulation and sustainability of the South Wales fisheries and marine environment. |
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