Press release
Marine and Fisheries Agency (Communications)
Area 6C, 3-8 Whitehall Place, London SW1A 2HH
Tel: 020 7270 1985
Date: 17/04/2007 Reference: 06/07
Company secretary fined £37,500 in Kilkeel black fish case
A company secretary who admitted cheating European fish quotas was fined £37,500 and ordered to pay £10,000 costs at Liverpool Crown Court on Monday April 16th.
In a prosecution brought by the Marine and Fisheries Agency, Cyril Sargint, 67, from Kilkeel, Northern Ireland, admitted five counts of falsely declaring the amount of quota fish which had been caught.
Last January, twenty people and two fishing companies also from Kilkeel admitted similar offences.
Sargint, who worked for the Kilkeel Fish Selling Company, initially pleaded not guilty and was due to stand trial.
Sargint changed his plea after accepting he was aware of the practice of black fishing and should have put a stop to it in his capacity as company secretary.
The court heard the fishermen cheated the system by claiming they had caught non-quota fish, such as conger eel and gurnard, when in fact they had illegal hauls of quota fish.
The boats landed their fish at Kilkeel and Whitehaven, in Cumbria. Paul Caulfield, defending Sargint, said: “It is a matter of bitter regret my client finds himself before a court for the first time in his 67 years. Yes, he played a part but a relatively small part.''
Judge Nigel Gilmour QC fined Sargint £37,500 and ordered him to pay £10,000 costs. Judge Gilmour said: “He was well aware of the trade in black fish – the catching of certain types of fish over and above quota levels. This is a serious criminal offence.''
Another defendant Kevin Christian, 58, from Fleetwood, Lancashire, also pleaded guilty to failing to submit landing declarations that accurately recorded the quantity of fish by species landed. His sentencing was adjourned until June in order for further investigations to be carried out into his financial situation.
MFA district inspector, Mike Parker said after Monday’s hearing: “We regard this a serious case of over fishing - cheating the system which is designed to safeguard fish stocks and thus protect the livelihoods of fishermen. This type of prosecution is necessary to prevent the unlawful landing of species that are subject to quota limits.
“It is essential that the fishing industry complies with the regulations which are intended to ensure sustainable fish stocks which are in the interests of the fishing industry and the wider public.”
Notes to Editors
The Marine and Fisheries Agency is an executive agency of government which is tasked with service delivery, inspection, and enforcement provided by the government to the fishing industry and other marine users in England and Wales.
The MFA has overall responsibility for the enforcement of the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) and its associated regulations within the 60,000 square miles of English and Welsh waters.
Any vessel, regardless of size or nationality, fishing in British waters is subject to routine inspections which are designed to protect the interests of the fishing industry as a whole.
MFA's key objectives are:
- to be a key partner in the management of marine fisheries
- to enforce regulations, professionally, consistently and fairly
- to contribute to the sustainable use of the marine environment
- to provide specialist information to inform the development of policy and its effective implementation.
MFA press contact: Peter Hooley 0207-270-1985 / 07771-505-655
Page last modified: 17 April 2007
Page published: 17 April 2007