Vol. 504 No. 6
42 Mr. Ring asked the Minister for the Marine and Natural Resources the number of flagships fined for overfishing during the period April 1998 to 1999; and if any flagships had their licences revoked for overfishing. [12366/99]
A total of 19 fishing vessels registered in other countries, of which seven were UK-registered Spanish vessels, were detained by the Irish authorities in the period from April, 1998 to the present. The detentions arose from suspected fisheries offences including logbook infringements, retention on board of undersize fish and failure to make entry or exit reports. Fines and forfeitures ranging from £350 to £31,500 have been imposed in 13 cases, one vessel was released without charge and a formal written warning was issued to another. Four cases are before the courts at present.
The Irish authorities are working to ensure close co-operation by other EU member states, notably the UK, France and Spain on fisheries enforcement. For example, data provided by our fisheries control services to the UK authorities was critical to a number of successful fisheries prosecutions by the UK of flagships last year resulting in fines of over £1 million. This liaison is being maintained and intensified in order to ensure strict enforcement of fisheries regulations by all member states. Revocation of a fishing vessel's licence would be primarily a matter for the national authorities in the country of registry.
