The auctioneer and the owners and skippers of the six vessels based in the South West, U.K, port of Newlyn were convicted Tuesday at Truro Crown Court in Cornwall following two earlier court hearings in 2006 and 2007.
“This was an environmental and financial crime. Quota was available for these species of fish throughout the investigation period,” said a senior spokesman from the Marine Fisheries Agency (MFA).
The deception “was done for financial gain - not to avoid discarding fish,” said the spokesman.
These
