On 14 th June 2023, at Truro Magistrates Court, Cornwall IFCA successfully prosecuted the master Andrew Burt (30) of Indian Queens, Cornwall and owner Leslie Burt (54) of Newquay, Cornwall, of the fishing vessel Isabelle PW64. Andrew and Leslie Burt each pleaded guilty to seven offences in relation to fishing for and retaining berried lobsters, retaining and landing lobsters with mutilated tails, as well as two logbook records offences. The illegal lobsters offences took place in December 2022, with one logbook offence also being at that time and then repeated during a later fishing trip in February/March 2023.
Magistrates sentenced both Andrew Burt and Leslie Burt to fines of £6,870 each, surcharges of £2,478 each and ordered to pay £2,162 each towards the prosecution costs. The total payments ordered by the court amounted to £23,020.
Berried lobsters (female lobsters bearing eggs) are protected by law and any that are caught in English waters must be returned immediately to the sea. As a voluntary measure, some skippers choose to “v-notch” berried lobsters before returning them to the sea. This involves clipping a small triangular piece from one of the hard tail flaps of the lobster which can remain present through two or three moults. It provides an additional level of protection, as there is legislation in place which makes it an offence to fish for or land lobsters with a v-notch, including any with a mutilated tail which may obscure a v-notch. This applies whether such a lobster is berried or not at the time it is recaught.
On 19 th December 2022, the fishing vessel Isabelle PW64 returned to the port of Padstow after a six day fishing trip both inside and outside the Cornwall IFCA district. Cornwall IFCA officers conducted a routine inspection of the catch of crabs and lobsters and discovered 28 berried female lobsters and 2 lobsters with damage to their tails. They also observed that a large proportion of the pleopods belonging to female lobsters were in an un-naturally dishevelled state, indicating the possibility that a significant number of them had been forcibly scrubbed to remove their eggs. The lobsters were seized for evidence and then photographed before being released alive back to the sea.
Simon Cadman, Cornwall IFCA’s Principal Enforcement Officer said “Crab and lobster stocks around the Cornish coast have been subject to increased potting effort by the larger vivier potters, which has been particularly notable over the winter months when a high percentage of female lobsters are carrying their eggs. The future of the inshore lobster fishery is clearly threatened by the short-sighted behaviour of certain fishers who have flagrantly ignored important legislation which has significantly reduced the recruitment of juvenile lobsters to the fishery. There are many people who rely on healthy inshore lobster stocks and share the authority’s concern about the level of potting effort, as well as the shellfish landed by some operators. Cornwall IFCA is currently looking at its management of potting effort, with the aim to provide long-term viable inshore crab and lobster fisheries. It is crucially important that the rules are followed, and officers will continue to direct much of their focus on potting vessels whilst concerns remain for this vitally important sector of the local fishing industry. It is hoped that today’s sentence, as well as those handed down by the Court for other similar cases recently prosecuted by Cornwall IFCA, will send a clear message that non-compliance will not be tolerated.”