MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency
Taiwanese Jigger Fined in Falklands Court
The owners of a Taiwan registered jigger, the Ming Man were fined a total of £33,000 in the Stanley Magistrates Court on Monday. The captain of the vessel was fined a further £3,300 on the same charges, which related to a breach of licence conditions and false catch reporting. Both parties entered guilty pleas.
The Court was informed that on inspection by officers of the Falkland Islands Fisheries Department on 8th March, prior to the issue of a licence to fish for Ilex squid, the pilot ladder of the Ming Man had been found to be inadequate and in breach of licensing requirements. The Ming Man had received its licence, on condition that the discovered inadequacies of its boarding arrangements would be made good.
All vessels licensed to fish in Falkland waters have, as part of their licence requirements to provide adequate means by which Fisheries Department officers may board to make inspections. An accident earlier this year, due to an inadequate ladder having led to a Fisheries Officer falling into the sea while attempting to board a vessel for inspection, had demonstrated the importance of compliance with this requirement.
During a routine inspection of the Ming Man on 11th May, Fisheries Department officers had discovered that the licence conditions relating to the pilot ladder had not been complied with.
The Court was informed that further inspection of the vessel in Port Stanley had also led to suspicions that catch reports filed between 9th March and 12th May had been inaccurate. Inspection of the ship's hold by three officers of the Fisheries Department confirmed these suspicions.
214 tonnes of squid had been reported in the catch records, but estimates of the actual amount made respectively by the captain of the vessel and its local agents, Fortuna Ltd. after the inspection, varied between 420 and 469 tonnes.
The Court was informed that the estimated market value of the discrepancy between the reported and actual catches was between $US 224.000 and $US 254.000.
In a written statement issued today, Tuesday, Senior Magistrate, Mrs.Clare Faulds, gave the following reasons for the sentence handed out to the captain and owners of the Ming Man: -
"The offence of making false reports carries a Level 9 penalty, i.e. a maximum fine of £35,000. Provision of accurate information to the Director of Fisheries is important for the proper management and conservation of the Falkland Islands fisheries and breaches of the reporting requirements are taken seriously. The prosecution has stated that the charge is a specimen charge and the defendant has admitted to it as such, acknowledging a course of conduct in which many similar offences were committed. Accordingly, a fine close to the maximum penalty is warranted notwithstanding the defendant's early guilty plea and previous good record and that the offence was not committed for financial gain. The master of the vessel may have been inexperienced so far as the Falkland Islands' fishing licensing regime is concerned but the defendant, as the owner of vessels licensed to fish in Falkland waters for the last 6 years, had relevant experience. A vessel owner must ensure compliance with the licence requirements and the defendant should not have left the vessel in the charge of a master with inadequate knowledge and competence.
The defective pilot ladder was drawn to the attention of the defendant at the time the vessel was issued with a fishing licence. It should have been repaired or replaced. The defective ladder was dangerous and a fine and confiscation of the ladder are appropriate."
Some surprise has been expressed in Stanley at the relatively small amount of the fines imposed on the Ming Man and its owners. Sources in the Falkland Islands Fisheries Department report that in a similar case of misreporting over a much shorter period, which occurred three years ago, the total fines imposed amounted to some £93,000.
Speaking as local agents for the Taiwanese owned vessel, Mrs Jan Cheek, Director of Fortuna Ltd. said that her company's role in the case had been simply to arrange legal representation for the captain and the owners and, finally, to pay the fine imposed on their behalf.
Mrs.Cheek added that in the view of her company it was "quite reasonable" that the Falkland Islands Fisheries department should demand accurate catch reporting and compliance with licence conditions, such as the provision of safe pilot ladders.
John Fowler (Mercopress) Stanley
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