Three men have been found guilty of illegally fishing for Atlantic bluefin tuna off Baltimore Harbour in West Cork.
Brian Hassett from Monkstown, Co Cork; Barry Keohane from Blackrock, Co Cork; and Conor Jones of Kildinan, Co Cork were found guilty of illegally fishing for Atlantic bluefin tuna in waters south of Baltimore Harbour on 10 October 2022.
All three entered guilty pleas at Skibbereen District Court at a hearing on Tuesday 14 March.
The court heard evidence from Inland Fisheries Ireland (IFI) officer David Lordan, who said he observed the men using a spreader-bar lure system for around 70 minutes before their vessel entered Baltimore Harbour.
Despite an application for a return of the seized fishing gear, the court granted Forfeiture Orders in respect of all items seized.
Details were also presented of the importance of protecting Atlantic bluefin tuna and the research programme Tuna CHART, a catch-and-release tagging programme gathering scientific data through licensed recreational charters since 2019.
Hassett was found guilty of a breach of Section 285(a) of the Fisheries (Consolidation) Act 1959 and fined €1,000. He was also found guilty of breaches of Article 4 (a) and 4 (b) of Bye Law 981 of 2020, which were taken into consideration.
Keohane and Jones were found guilty of breaches of Article 4 (a) and 4 (b) of the 2020 Bye Law, and both men received the benefit of the Probation of Offenders Act on bonds of €5,000 each for a period of three years.
Commenting after the case, Sean Long, director of the South-Western River Basin District at IFI said: “I want to praise the vigilance of the fisheries officers involved in this operation.
“Illegal fishing for Atlantic bluefin tuna jeopardises the potential future for sustainable catch-and-release angling fishery, currently valued at €1 million annually, for professional skippers and for rural coastal communities.
“I continue to encourage members of the public to report incidents of illegal fishing, water pollution and fish kills, to Inland Fisheries Ireland’s 24-hour confidential hotline number on 0818 34 74 24.”
