State’s fish catch watchdog overpays salaries by €730,000

The state watchdog which monitors fish catches is repaying €730,000 in overpaid salaries according to a newly published report, which also shows more than 3,500 checks and inspections were conducted.

The Sea Fisheries Protection Authority (SFPA) annual report for 2016 has been laid before the Oireachtas and shows there were 1,905 fisheries control inspections, 1,250 naval service boardings, and 85 foreshore licence assessments carried out that yeast.

There were 21,818 landings in 2016, involving 276,233 tonnes of catch worth almost €372m — a 4% increase in overall value compared with the figure for 2015.