Newquay fisherman caught illegally fishing female lobsters in breeding season
A Newquay fishing company has today pleaded guilty to illegally catching breeding lobsters, and was ordered to pay more than £22,000 in fines.
Three Jay Shellfish ltd was caught twice last year with female lobsters carrying eggs - which is against the law because of their offspring's low survival rates.
Today (February 28) company director and master of the vessel Michael Ian Jepson admitted having berried lobsters after being inspected by Cornwall Inshore Fisheries and Conservation Authority on two separate occasions.
On the 12th May, the authority inspected Mr Jepson's catch when he landed in Hayle and discovered that seven lobsters were carrying eggs. Other lobsters found in the box were in poor condition with the undersides of their tails appearing to have been subjected to rough treatment, which was considered to be consistent with having been scrubbed to remove all the eggs.
Then on the 1st December, while the investigation was ongoing, Cornwall IFCA boarded the JJJ vessel while it was fishing in Cornish waters and discovered three lobsters with at least one black egg on each of their tails. Again, it was suspected that they had been subjected to scrubbing in an attempt to remove the eggs. All the berried lobsters seized by Cornwall IFCA during both investigations were returned to the sea alive.
Mr Jepson was handed a fine of £938 plus a surcharge of £93 and ordered to pay £3,120 towards the prosecution costs at Bodmin Magistrates today.
Three Jays Shellfish Ltd were fined £15,000, plus a surcharge of £190 and also ordered to pay £3,120 towards the prosecution costs. The total payments ordered by the court amounted to £22,456.
It follows another prosecution of Penzance fishing company Rowse Fishing Ltd, who in January 2022 was ordered to pay £28,837.90 in fines and costs.
What are berried lobsters?
In England, it is illegal to catch and bring onto land a female lobster or crawfish with eggs on its body. This law exists to give the ‘berried’ lobster the chance to hatch her young and enhance the population.
There are between 20-30,000 eggs on a female lobster when she is breeding but in the wild, only 1 or 2 would survive the seven or eight years it takes to grow until legal landing size.
Simon Cadman, Cornwall IFCA’s Principal Enforcement Officer said the "vast majority" of lobster fishers abide by the rules.
"It is therefore particularly disheartening to find an individual repeatedly disregarding the rules, even committing the same offence whilst the initial event was still under investigation. "
"I want to assure everyone that Cornwall IFCA will continue to remain vigilant for illegal shellfish catches, investigate as necessary and take appropriate enforcement action."
"I hope that today’s convictions and the sentencing of Mr Jepson and Three Jays Shellfish Ltd demonstrates that taking berried lobsters from Cornish waters will not be tolerated and that the sentences handed down by the Court will act as a deterrent to others”.
The court case is one of several lobster investigations by Cornwall IFCA which say they are cracking down on those who break these conservation rules.