The owner, De Ridder Rederij BVBA, and master, Maarten Harteveld, of the Belgian beam trawler Grietje Hendrika have been sentenced for three counts of failing to accurately complete an EU logbook.
These three occasions of offending included £27,951 worth of fish.
The vessel was inspected by marine officers at Ramsgate in Kent, UK on 14 September 2010. The vessel was suspected of logbook offences based on the times and catches that had been recorded in the vessel’s logbook. Further examination of records, including vessel monitoring system data, revealed three occasions where catches of sole and plaice had been recorded as being caught in Area IVc (Southern North Sea) when the catches had been made in the Area VIId (Eastern English Channel).
On one occasion 2.7 tonnes of plaice had been recorded as being caught in a very short space of time in Area IVc, following daily catches by the vessel of 300kg a day of plaice in Area VIId. According to Belgian fishery rules in Area VIId, 300kg of plaice was the limit that the vessel was permitted to retain on a daily basis.
The owner was fined £30,951 and ordered to pay £7,239 in court costs. The master was fined £615. They had pleaded guilty to the offences at an early hearing at Canterbury Magistrates Court on 3 May 2012.
Two masters were involved in the offending but only one appeared in court. A warrant for the arrest of the master that failed to attend was renewed.
