One of the hot points of debate in the United Kingdom at the moment is the use of the Proceeds of Crime Act (PoC) in the prosecution of fishermen for breaching relatively minor fishing regulations.

However, finding a solution in dealing with the problem of creating a balance between those who make genuine minor errors in regulatory paperwork and those who openly flaunt the law is not confined to the United Kingdom - it poses problems for governments across the world.

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In the United Kingdom last month, a member of parliament made a passionate plea that the use of legislation designed to enforce the law against serious criminals such as  drug dealers should not be applied to inshore and whitefish fishermen.

While his comments that the Marine Management Organization (MMO) had become “an increasingly vindictive body managed by people with no practical knowledge or experience of the fishing industry” may have been slightly overstated, his belief that implementation of the law was “inconsistent...