The master of a French registered sea-fishing vessel, “Sister Clare”, has been sent forward for trial in the Circuit Court for alleged sea-fisheries offences detected during an inspection of the vessel at Castletownbere port.
The vessel was detained in a joint operation between officers of the Sea-Fisheries Protection Authority and An Garda Síochána, with the detention extended under an order of the District Court on the 27th of June, 2025.
The master appeared before Bandon District Court on the 29th of June, where he was served with the book of evidence and sent forward to the next sittings of Cork Circuit Criminal Court. The Court heard the Director of Public Prosecutions directed a prosecution for charges including the alleged use of non-compliant fishing gear, mis-recording of gear dimensions and catches onboard, failure to accurately record information on frozen Nephrops box labels, and failure to have equipment to recover lost gear.
The Court ordered the vessel may be released from detention subject to payment of a bond to the value of €350,000.00
Ends
About the SFPA
The Sea-Fisheries Protection Authority (SFPA) is the independent statutory body responsible for the regulation of the sea-fisheries and the sea-food production sectors. It promotes compliance with the EU Common Fisheries Policy, sea-fisheries law and food safety law relating to fish and fish products, verifies compliance and, where necessary, enforces it. Its mandate covers all fishing vessels operating within Ireland’s 200-mile limit, over 2,000 Irish registered fishing vessels wherever they operate, and all seafood produced in Ireland’s seafood processing companies. The SFPA operates through a network of regional port offices situated at Ireland’s main fishery harbours. For further information visit: www.sfpa.ie