Fishermen say penalties on EU breaches are unfair

IRISH fishermen are being over-penalised for breaches of EU regulations, it was claimed yesterday.

The industry highlighted discriminatory fines against Irish skippers compared to other international fishing fleets.

The average circuit court fine on all 42 detected Irish vessels brought before the courts last year was €15,000. However, in Finland, the average penalty was a very modest €137 while in Spain, where 3,600 trawlers breached EU regulations, only four were brought to court.