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Fishers caught operating in protected waters claimed they were unaware of closures
The Press and Journal 22/08/2008
Two fishermen were fined a total of £5,000 at Dingwall Sheriff Court yesterday after they admitted fishing in protected waters around the most westerly point in Britain.
It was claimed the pair knew nothing about the closure of the waters around Rockall, despite having lobbied for fishing in the area to be prohibited. Barry Reid, 29, of 3 Loch Street, Whitehills, admitted being skipper of the Banff-registered Audacious when fishing in protected waters round Rockall on March 30 last year.
William Gatt, 44, of the Old School House, Loch Street, Whitehills, was skipper when the same vessel was caught in the same waters on August 28 last year. Reid was fined £2,000, while Gatt was fined £3,000.
Fiscal Stella Swan said lobbying had been going on for several years to prevent fishing at the cold-water coral reefs, which are several thousand years old. When officers from the Scottish Fisheries Protection Agency (SFPA) boarded Gatt’s boat, they hauled up his nets and found a number of bottom-living species and pieces of broken coral. Similar items had been found when officers boarded Reid’s boat earlier in the year.
Solicitor Jill Turner, who represented the men during separate hearings, said Gatt, a married father of three, had been closely involved with campaigning to have the waters closed. She said: “My client proposed a voluntary closed area at Rockall to preserve this coral. He has been a fisherman all his life and is aware that if he doesn’t look after the sea and areas he is fishing in his livelihood is at stake.”
The legislation banning fishing around Rockall came into force on March 23 last year – the same day that Reid set sail. Ms Turner said SFPA officers had spoken to Reid earlier in the day when he was fishing outside the prohibited area but had not mentioned the ban. She added that she could find no mention of the restrictions on the SFPA website.
A Scottish Government spokeswoman said later: “Every effort is made to alert fishermen to closures as soon as possible.
“Legislative changes are communicated to the industry by various means including through working groups attended by industry representatives.”
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