Thanks largely to a seemingly endless stream of primetime TV documentaries dedicated to the fishing industry, the United Kingdom is at last taking notice of its commercial fishermen. So when news broke a week ago that a group of businesses had been hit with fines approaching GBP 1 million (EUR 1.2 million, USD 1.6 million) in the Scottish High Court for so-called “black fishing” offenses, it didn’t just make the news; it was the lead story across most British networks.
But apart from handing down hefty fines to a former processing factory and 17 greedy pelagic boat skippers, what these high profile rulings have unwittingly done is illustrate just how much this vitally important component of the UK seafood industry has progressed in a short space of time.
Scottish Fisheries Secretary Richard Lochhead said the cases were “a stark and shameful reminder” of the culture that existed in some areas of the fishing industry in past years, but that they don’t reflect the much-improved sector seen today.
“The offenses date back up to a decade ago and, thankfully, there has been seismic change in the attitude and behavior of the fishing fleet, which can only be good thing in securing a viable future for the industry in Scotland,” said Lochhead.
As well as the industry becoming more transparent and honest in the way it operates, there have been wholesale advances in how fish landings are monitored and controled, including comprehensive audits and certified weighing systems.
Bertie Armstrong, CEO of the Scottish Fishermen’s Federation (SFF), confirmed the pelagic sector operates much more scrupulously today. “The industry is in a different place. The law has changed. The practices of the industry have changed and are independently verified by the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) certification of [those] stocks that are caught.”
The industry is “squeaky clean,” he said.
The guilty fishermen falsely declared the total volumes of mackerel and herring they landed to evade their annual quota limits. It’s estimated these illegal landings — made between 1 January 2002 and 19 March 2005 — had a value of GBP 47.5 million (EUR 57.1 million, USD 75.6 million). They were fined a total of GBP 720,000 (EUR 864,773, USD 1.1 million) by the court.
In passing sentence, Judge Lord Turnbull told the fishermen, who he described as “normally law-abiding,” that they had been involved in a “cynical and sophisticated” scheme — a calculated attempt to make more money. Their motivation was purely financial, he said, clearly referring to the fact that the pelagic boats are the most profitable in the Scottish fleet.
Meanwhile, the now defunct Alexander Buchan Ltd. factory assisted a different group of skippers in making false declarations at its Peterhead facility by rigging its scales and other fraudulent methods. It was fined GBP 240,000 (EUR 288,258, USD 381,875).
Sentences against another six fishermen and two additional fish factories will be given on 18 May.
All 23 fishermen and the three processing companies were snared during “Operation Trawler,” mounted by the police and the Scottish Fisheries Protection Agency (now called Marine Scotland) after irregularities in the sector were uncovered.
In addition to the fines given by the High Court, approximately GBP 3 million (EUR 3.6 million, USD 4.8 million) had already been recovered through the Proceeds of Crime Act (POCA). Also, annual cuts in quota for all the vessels involved in the scam have been applied in recent years so that all the fish previously caught in excess of quota is taken back.
Operation Trawler has undoubtedly scored a big victory for the justice system, and any short-term financial benefits the charged fishermen gained through their scam have been more than outweighed by the losses they have since suffered through the payback of quotas and penalties.
Furthermore, it’s been suggested that while in full swing the illicit landings had depressed the pelagic market. In recent years, however, prices have been much higher — perhaps partly because there’s no black fish being traded. Nevertheless, because of their reduced quota limits, the guilty men haven’t been able to profit anywhere near as much as they might from this now clean, resurgent fishery.
