A total of 36 boats have been fined £140,000 in the last 10 months for entering Scotland’s marine protected areas. But campaigners claim the fines are too small and may not be a sufficient deterrent.
It is happening hundreds of miles off Scotland’s coastlines. Boats are being fined thousands of pounds for entering marine protected areas (MPAs), where new fishing rules are designed to protect underwater species and seabed habitats.
But charities are casting doubt about whether this new enforcement system goes far enough to deter illegal fishing. They also question whether the fines will help the Scottish Government meet its own legal requirement to improve the state of the seabed, which, they say, it has so far failed to do.
Charles Millar, chief executive of the Sustainable Inshore Fisheries Trust, … said although it is good news the majority of the fines – around £108,000 have been paid already – a “persistent level of offending, or even re-offending”, can show that the deterrent effect is not working.
“As to whether £4,000 [offshore] fines are enough, our main focus as an organisation is inshore, but I think that my initial response was ‘that doesn’t sound very high’, especially when you consider some of the inshore fines south of the border are six figures,” he added.
“[Setting fines high enough in general] seems to us to be a potential win-win. You dissuade the small minority of bad actors from doing things illegally, and it’s a win for everyone else.”
