Australia bans Irish-owned supertrawler

THE world’s second-biggest fishing trawler, the Irish-owned Veronica, has been banned from fishing off Australia’s south-east coast.

The ban mirrors action already taken against the ship by the New South Wales and South Australian state governments who cited the need to protect fish stocks.

Australian environmentalists had warned that the giant factory ship, owned by Killybegs-based entrepreneur Kevin McHugh, would devastate stocks of the small pelagic fish that provide a key link in the ocean food chain.