The total catch of the Belgian beam trawler Pieter Z56 – worth about £5,500 - was confiscated by Brighton Magistrates on 1 April after its owners and skipper admitted fishery control offences, in a case brought by the UK''s Marine and Fisheries Agency.

The Pieter with its skipper and owner aboard had been detained and escorted to Shoreham after British Sea Fishery officers from the Royal Navy’s fishery protection vessel HMS Severn boarded her in the eastern Channel on 31 March.

Officers found Pieter had a falsified log book which had mis-recorded the area of capture of valuable quota species of sole.

Magistrates fined Pieter’s owner Christoph BVBA, of Berchem, Belgium, and skipper Johan Siereveld, of Colijnsplatt, The Netherlands, £5,000 each for failure to keep an accurate fishing log book. Each was also ordered to pay a further £1,075 in costs. The entire catch was made forfeit and signed over to the MFA.

After the case an MFA spokesman said: “Professional fishermen know that keeping a fishing log book which accurately records how much of each species has been caught and where forms a vital part of fishery conservation measures.

“It is information that fishery scientists rely on to inform their decisions on what annual quota limits to set for each species - which in turn are designed to conserve stocks and safeguard fishermen’s jobs.

“This was deliberate attempt to breach control regulations for profit.”