Trawler skipper admits fisheries charges following naval inspection at sea

A Donegal fishing trawler skipper has admitted three charges of failing to keep completed logbooks of catches while at sea.
Stuart Masson, 40, of Gulladuff, Moville, pleaded guilty to the charges which related to an inspection at sea by the Naval Service of the trawler Maggie C on October 13, 2015.
Letterkenny Circuit Court heard the trawler was spotted by the naval patrol vessel LÉ James Joyce during a routine patrol of an area where fishing quotas, including a ban on fishing for whiting, were in place
When questioned by two naval fisheries officers who had boarded the vessel in a rib, Mr Masson denied having any whiting on board and said the season was closed. The officers noted what catches were recorded in the electronic logbook.

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A search of the trawler found more than 40 boxes of whiting.
Sea fisheries protection officer Kevin Barber told the court the skipper said his crew were to blame for keeping the whiting.
The vessel was detained and brought to Killybegs where it was handed over to gardaí and further inspections were carried out.
Mr Barber said the vessel was also found to be carrying nets that were not permitted in the area it was fishing.
The trawler was carrying 36% more haddock than it was permitted.
Solicitor for Mr Masson, Ruairi O’Cathain, said the skipper ought to have recorded the catches but didn't through error and “then panicked when he was asked by the fisheries officers”.
He said the fishing operation was still ongoing when the Naval Service inspected the vessel and normally there would be a recount before a fishing declaration was made.
Mr Masson accepted that the whiting should have been entered on the electronic logbook.
Mr O Cathain said the whiting had been accidentally caught and it should have been kept onboard and then recorded.
The skipper’s error, he said, was that he did not record the fish by the time the inspection took place.
Judge John Aylmer adjourned sentencing to next Tuesday.