Irish state seeks €5.9m bond on fishing boat!

The state is looking for more than €5.9m bond on a fishing trawler which has been detained in Killybegs since Friday.


Naval officers and officers from the Sea Fisheries Protection Authority (SFPA) boarded the Dutch-owned Anneliles Ilena, formerly known as the Atlantic Dawn, about 100 nautical miles northwest of Tory Island on Friday morning,

It is alleged that three breaches of fishing regulations were observed and the trawler, one of the biggest in the world, was brought to Killybegs. Skipper Gerrit Plug appeared at Donegal District Court today, charged with three counts of breaching logging and discard regulations. Solicitor Ciaran Liddy said the State was seeking payment of €5,922,544 before the trawler could be released. The figure is made up of the value of all the fish and gear on board at the time of detention, as well as the maximum fines and provision for costs.

Defence solicitor Dermot Barry told the court “The bond that is being looked for is out of the question. In this case, the evidence, such as it is, has a value of approximately €20. It’s costing him €100,000 a day to keep the ship in port.” His client, he added, was prepared to pay a bond of €100,000. Mr Liddy said the case concerned more than €20 worth of fish: “It’s alleged that the grading machinery was used in circumstances where it shouldn’t have been, to remove smaller fish and leave bigger fish.”

Judge Kevin Kilrane said the bail seemed “disproportionate in this case” and asked Mr Liddy find out whether there was any room for discretion. The case was adjourned for a short time but, on resumption, Mr Liddy confirmed that it was the DPP’s view that there was no room for discretion. Judge Kilrane set bail at €250,000. He said he would not execute the order until 10.30am tomorrow (Tuesday) at Carrick-on-Shannon court. This gives the state time to challenge his ruling in a higher court, if it is thought bail should be higher. This also means that the trawler cannot leave Killybegs until 10.30am tomorrow.

The ship’s owner, Diek Parlevliet, asked to speak. He pointed out that the skipper was arrested on Friday, just before the weekend, and the detention of the ship was something that cost a lot of money. With regard to bail, he commented: “I’m hearing amounts of €5-6 million. I’ve never heard of this in my life. I’m not happy with €250,000 but at least it is considerably down. We feel that this is about €20 worth of fish, and nobody has seen any fish going into the sea.”

The case is due to be heard at the next sitting of the Circuit Court in Donegal Town on December 10.

Full story here.

NEWLYN'S Fishermen's Mission has been chosen by staff of the new Sainsbury's store in Penzance to be its official charity of the year.

Employees at the supermarket voted for the cause out of a number of others at an introductory function last month, citing strong connections to west Cornwall's community and maritime history as reasons for the decision.

​ Julian Waring, who works at the port's branch, said the fact the mission was picked was very touching. "We got the phone call the following day," Mr Waring said.

"It shows how valued the charity is locally. All the 300 employees are supporting us – it's really quite humbling.

"I went down there and the big smiles I was getting were lovely. Some had family members who had benefited from the organisation."

Mr Waring said the partnership with the retail giant was "really significant" and he hoped it would bring in a considerable amount more money for the work it does. "It's a real boost," he said.

"Through this we can reach more fishermen.

"It's difficult to know how much more money we'll get, but it may well be in the thousands. It'll be considerable."

Mission skipper Keith on tea watch!

The mission's Superintendent Keith Dickson said Sainsbury's staff told him they were happy at the decision. "They were "really pleased that we were chosen," he said. "We're going to work very closely with them. "We're really grateful for their support. It will make a big difference to our fundraising." The partnership will present opportunities for fundraising events, collection points and in-store incentives in aid of the mission's work. The store's new manager Steve Moine described the charity as "a crucial part of the community". "The store is very proud to be able to have this relationship with a charity that touches so many local people."

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Once in a lifetime opportunity - 0º crosses at 0º

The majority of sailors even if they travel around all the oceans seldom get the chance to sail through the intersection of both meridians - where 0º Longitude at Greenwich  crosses 0º Latitude on the prime meridian or equator.

The screengrab shows the chart plotter within minutes and seconds of achieving that feat - made almost impossible by the siting of a French navigation mark buoy to mark the spot!

Best bass bargains today!

There's always work to be done when there are nets involved...                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   

fish are flying off the market floor this morning...

here's just one bass from the weekend's good fishing by the punts...

master hands at rest...

as the monk tails come up for auction...

there's a few squid around for the local inshore  trawlers...

and plenty examples of the 'king of fish' as Heith Floyd would have them...

 

and when it comes to line caught, thse squid are going to fetch some serious fish too...

always a challenge to name the extact type of squid being by the handline boys,,,

not quite sun-up and the world is one step closer to a new day.

It's a FFFFFFFFFFFFFreezing Fishy Friday!

St Georges, is derived from the Persian word Gurj, for the frightening and heroic people of that region...

cuttle ink trickles away...

there's some éntenté cordiale this morning on the market...

and some fairly fishy Friday plaice up for auction...

where auctioneer Ian keep the buyers busy bidding...

a good night's work for the Cornish Sardine boats...

will mean there are good supplies to all the local supermarkets and beyond that sell the fish...

yet another port of registration change goes to Truro...

the Admiral Gordon now has a new starboard derrick...

and another boat is getting all geared up in shiny aluminium...

signs of chill in the air as the iceworks plant sends a plum of condensation skywards...

just as the sun begins to throw some light up from below the horizon...

and give the harbour that colour scheme only really found at this time of year...

of these Tom never gets to miss...

and the promenade falls between the night and the day.

ThisFish - Canada style

ThisFish is an initiative of Ecotrust Canada.  ThisFish strives to deliver a simple and affordable seafood traceability system that provides benefits to producers and consumers. It is a voluntary, consumer-focused seafood traceability system that includes tagging methodologies and technology; online resources, data management and social marketing tools; and other related services (collectively referred to herein as “the Service”).

ThisFish makes it possible for operators throughout the supply chain, from ocean to plate, to obtain general information on each fish back to its source: who caught it, when, where and how. It is a voluntary system for like-minded people who want to produce and consume traceable seafood products.

 

 

Thanks to Thisfish's mobile website, it's now easier than ever to discover the story of your seafood while on the go. Whether in a restaurant or grocery store, you can quickly trace your catch at the touch of a button. Watch our quick demo video.

 

BBC 4 tonight - Blackfish - the whale that killed

 

Documentary which unravels the story of notorious performing whale Tilikum, who - unlike any orca in the wild - has taken the lives of several people while in captivity. So what exactly went wrong?

Shocking, never-before-seen footage and interviews with trainers and experts manifest the orca's extraordinary nature, the species' cruel treatment in captivity over the last four decades and the growing disillusionment of workers who were misled and endangered by the highly profitable sea-park industry.

This emotionally-wrenching, tautly-structured story challenges us to consider our relationship to nature and reveals how little we humans have learned from these highly intelligent and enormously sentient fellow mammals