Alberto Barreiro Faria, the Master of a French-registered fishing vessel, Faro Picamillo, was convicted and fined €500 at Bantry District Court on the 23rd of September 2026.
Mr. Barreiro Faria, who has an address in Spain, pleaded guilty to failing to comply with the legal requirement to ensure a boarding ladder facilitated the safe boarding of a Fisheries Inspection Officer and failing to ensure the boarding ladder was in good order. The offence was detected during an inspection, in the Irish European Economic Zone (EEZ), by inspectors operating from the European Fisheries Control Agency (EFCA) patrol vessel, the Ocean Guardian.
The Court heard evidence detailing how a side rope of the boarding ladder deployed by the crew of the fishing vessel, broke just as an EFCA inspector began climbing it in the course of a routine inspection. With assistance, the inspector was able to safely return to the patrol Rigid Inflatable Boat (RIB). The Court heard evidence emphasising how the condition of boarding ladders affects the safety of inspectors working at sea.
Following the incident, the sea-fishing vessel was directed to Castletownbere port and detained by An Garda Síochána. The Master was subsequently charged following a direction from the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), leading to the conviction and a €500 fine.
A spokesperson for the SFPA commented:
“The health and safety of Sea-Fisheries Protection Officers and inspectors performing their duties is of the utmost importance. Vessel owners and fishing masters must comply with their responsibilities to take all steps to always ensure the maintenance and provision of compliant and safe boarding ladders for inspectors. To this end, boarding ladders must be regularly checked. The SFPA commends the inspectors involved in this inspection, in addition to officers of the SFPA and An Garda Síochána for their roles in the enforcement process”.
Ends
Further Information
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