Laura Vincent’s skipper blamed a computer program for his fishing inside the six-to 12 mile limit. (0578556)
A FRENCH skipper found potting for whelks in British waters has been fined £2,000 by the Magistrate’s Court. Yann Lemercier, of 34, Les Tourelles, Denneville, 50580 Portbail, admitted fishing in local waters.
Sea fisheries officers discovered 10 floats with French markings on 1 May. They were two miles within British waters east of Sark. The floats were registered to the Laura Vincent, registered as CH775921.
The officers returned on 6 May and as they approached they picked up the vessel on radar. On board they found 30kg of whelks, which had not been taken in British waters.
Mr Lemercier told the court that he did not realise he was within island waters as he was following a computer program. He had 15 years’ fishing experience but had been a skipper in that area only since 2007.
Advocate Lloyd Strappini, defending, told the court that his client would throw back the catch in the pots.
‘I note that this is the first time you have appeared in court for any offence,’ assistant-Magistrate Philip Robey told the accused.
‘I appreciate that this is not an offence of intention but rather of negligence, contributed particularly to by the computer program you were running.’
He imposed the fine and ordered that the catch in the pots be returned to the water.
n Senior sea fisheries officer Jon Torode said that SFOs patrolled local waters regularly.
‘Anybody who is breaking fisheries regulations is liable to be prosecuted. The last time we caught someone was two years ago in the same place and they were fishing for whelks.
‘I think this sends out a warning to French fishermen from that area that they can’t fish for whelks in the Haricots and if they do, they will be brought before the courts.’
Guernsey Fishermen’s Association president Peter Munro, pictured right, said after the Laura Vincent case: ‘The French have been continually asking for permission to fish in these areas in return for us using their waters.’
Guernsey fishermen were not opposed to the idea but it was up to the governments to negotiate, he said.
‘If you get caught out in France they probably would have been a lot more heavy-handed, so the laws here could be seen as lenient – but that’s a matter for the courts, not the fishermen.’
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