THE owners and skipper of UK beam trawler Daisy Christiane PZ 1172 were fined a total of £8462 and ordered to pay costs of £6229 at Camborne Magistrates Court on 26 June for illegally fishing within a closed area of the Celtic Sea in Area VIIF 30E4 in February 2005.
The trawler was caught by an MFA surveillance aircraft, which was carrying out an investigation after the vessel had been monitored by satellite surveillance within the closed area.
Following the verdict, Justin Williams, District Inspector with the Marine Fisheries Agency, said: "These closed areas were proposed by the fishing industry themselves to limit the impact of fishing, especially cod, in the Celtic Sea at a time of year when these fish are spawning."
