Sushihunter
Active Member
SIX trawler skippers yesterday admitted taking part in a £14 MILLION scam to beat restrictions on how many fish they could land.
They sold thousands of tons of mackerel and herring over their quotas and were helped to fiddle the figures by the fish factory they supplied.
The scale of their fraud amounted to a staggering £14million of fish in just over two years, the High Court in Glasgow heard.
The men - David Hutchison, 64, Robert Polson, 47, Thomas Eunson, 55, Allen Anderson, 54, John Irvine, 66, and Allister Irvine, 61, all from Shetland - were snared in a probe by The Scottish Fisheries Protection Agency.
The watchdog suspected widespread illegal landings and launched an investigation, which is continuing.
The six, who skippered three trawlers, admitted hiding the scale of their catches from the agency.
Fish factory Shetland Catch Limited admitted helping them to give false information.
The offences were committed between January 2002 and March 2005.
Hutchison, skipper of the Charisma, landed £3,698,705.40 of undeclared fish.
The Serene's Polson landed £3,679,086.76; Eunson £1,467,243 and Anderson £432,130.41, while the Zephyr's skippers John and Allister Irvine landed £3,658,981.33 and £1,828,175.23.
There is no limit to the fine that the court can impose for the offence.
All six were served with confiscation orders under the Proceeds of Crime Act. Sentence was deferred until November.
Speaking after the hearing, Scott Pattison, the Director of Operations at the Crown Office, said: "This prosecution is part of an extensive and complex investigation. The investigation is continuing into other landings."
He added: "This is not a victimless crime. The consequences of overfishing on this scale are far reaching and the impact on fish stocks and the marine environment is potentially devastating.
"The legislation is to protect the marine environment for the good of all and to safeguard the fishing industry. We will continue working with police and other agencies to prosecute those who disregard it for their personal gain."
Det Supt Gordon Gibson, of Grampian Police, said: "This was criminality at an extremely high level."
scottish-sun@the-sun.co.uk
Read more: http://www.thesun.co.uk/scotsol/homepage/news/3113469/Skippers-land-14m-of-illegal-fishy.html#ixzz0xqaNEdyL
Jim's Fishing Charters
www.JimsFishing.com
http://www.youtube.com/user/Sushihunter250
They sold thousands of tons of mackerel and herring over their quotas and were helped to fiddle the figures by the fish factory they supplied.
The scale of their fraud amounted to a staggering £14million of fish in just over two years, the High Court in Glasgow heard.
The men - David Hutchison, 64, Robert Polson, 47, Thomas Eunson, 55, Allen Anderson, 54, John Irvine, 66, and Allister Irvine, 61, all from Shetland - were snared in a probe by The Scottish Fisheries Protection Agency.
The watchdog suspected widespread illegal landings and launched an investigation, which is continuing.
The six, who skippered three trawlers, admitted hiding the scale of their catches from the agency.
Fish factory Shetland Catch Limited admitted helping them to give false information.
The offences were committed between January 2002 and March 2005.
Hutchison, skipper of the Charisma, landed £3,698,705.40 of undeclared fish.
The Serene's Polson landed £3,679,086.76; Eunson £1,467,243 and Anderson £432,130.41, while the Zephyr's skippers John and Allister Irvine landed £3,658,981.33 and £1,828,175.23.
There is no limit to the fine that the court can impose for the offence.
All six were served with confiscation orders under the Proceeds of Crime Act. Sentence was deferred until November.
Speaking after the hearing, Scott Pattison, the Director of Operations at the Crown Office, said: "This prosecution is part of an extensive and complex investigation. The investigation is continuing into other landings."
He added: "This is not a victimless crime. The consequences of overfishing on this scale are far reaching and the impact on fish stocks and the marine environment is potentially devastating.
"The legislation is to protect the marine environment for the good of all and to safeguard the fishing industry. We will continue working with police and other agencies to prosecute those who disregard it for their personal gain."
Det Supt Gordon Gibson, of Grampian Police, said: "This was criminality at an extremely high level."
scottish-sun@the-sun.co.uk
Read more: http://www.thesun.co.uk/scotsol/homepage/news/3113469/Skippers-land-14m-of-illegal-fishy.html#ixzz0xqaNEdyL
Jim's Fishing Charters
www.JimsFishing.com
http://www.youtube.com/user/Sushihunter250
