Tag Archives: Devon and Severn Inshore Fisheries and Conservation Authority

Prosecution was “legalised blackmail” – Angry trawler skipper cleared of illegal fishing says case cost him £200,000

A South Devon trawler owner cleared of illegal scallop fishing has lashed out at prosecutors who took him to court – in a case which has cost him more than £200,000. Derek Meredith, aged 50, and fellow skipper David Bickerstaff have been acquitted by a jury after a three-week trial. Mr Meredith, who owns the two boats at the centre of the case, said the prosecution had almost crippled him. He added that the two-year prosecution had cost him between £200,000 and £250,000 in lost business and legal fees. But a jury at Gloucester Crown Court acquitted him, Mr Bickerstaff and their companies of 16 counts. >click to read<09:55

High speed boats deployed to tackle Devon’s illegal crab and lobster trade – Skippers and owners heavily fined

Earlier this year fisheries bosses were tipped off about suspicious landings of crab and lobster at Plymouth. Their intelligence – which came from other concerned commercial fishers – told them that some boats were illegally bringing in under-sized crabs and “berried” lobsters – females carrying eggs. However, they had no information about who was involved, so they lay in wait at sea and intercepted boats heading for Sutton Harbour. Relying on the element of surprise, teams from the Devon and Severn Inshore Fisheries and Conservation Authority (IFCA) raced alongside the fishing boats in their RIB and boarded to carry out checks. click here to read the story 12:45