Fishing boat captains plead guilty to regulations breach amid Irish dispute

Jack Brown, 57, and 47-year-old Kevin Trainor pleaded guilty to breaching fishing regulations on Friday after their trawlers were seized in Dundalk Bay.

The Northern Ireland-registered vessels were seized by the Irish navy on Tuesday amid an ongoing dispute over their right to fish in Ireland’s waters.

Judge John Coughlan told Co Louth District Court that the men were people of absolute integrity, but he was bound by a Supreme Court decision which effectively banned Northern Ireland boats from fishing in Irish inshore waters.

The judge asked at one point if he could strike out the charges.

“It’s clear these are people of absolute integrity, and I should be as lenient as possible,” he said.

“This should be dealt with with absolute discretion, but I am bound by the Supreme Court.

“My instinct is to strike out the charge, but can I legally do that?”

Solicitor for the two men Karina Kinsella said that not being able to access their boats was “affecting them greatly” and that it was “unfortunate that Northern Irish fisherman are missing out” because of the Supreme Court ruling.

Judge Coughlan agreed, and added that he did not feel the men deserved any conviction.

They were given the benefit of the Probation Act and the boats were released early on Friday afternoon and returned to Kilkeel, Co Down, where they are usually based.

Both men left court after the judgement and travelled to Clogherhead Harbour where the boats had been kept.

The boats seized, Boy Joseph and Amity, were described as modest vessels, with a total of five staff between them.

The Boy Joseph had just over 1,200 euro worth of shellfish on board when it was seized.

Amity had a haul of crabs and lobsters worth an estimated 2,000 euro.

Both men have no previous convictions and fully co-operated with Irish police.

The move by Irish authorities comes amid an ongoing fishing dispute caused by the demise of an informal deal between the UK and Irish governments.

Ireland’s premier Leo Varadkar described the incident as “truly regrettable” on Friday evening, and said he is hopeful of updating Irish law within weeks.

Speaking in Belfast, he said: “I am pleased that it was resolved today and the ships have been released.

“The situation arose in 2016 when our Supreme Court struck down the provisions which allowed us to give access to Northern Ireland vessels within our six-mile limit.

“We need to change that law, we are going to change that law to restore the status quo to what it was before 2016.”

Mr Varadkar said he has been in contact with Irish opposition parties and is confident the legislation can be passed quickly.

“That will allow us to go back to the situation as it was between 1960 and 2016 where both Northern Ireland and Ireland allowed each other’s vessels to enter our six-mile limit,” he said.

“What would be helpful would be an indication from the UK Government that they won’t withdraw Northern Ireland from the London Convention because it wouldn’t make sense for us to change our law only to find that the law then changes in Northern Ireland as well. That is not a precondition, this is legislation we are going to get through.

“Fish do not know boundaries, certainly don’t know political boundaries, and we should be able as good neighbours to allow each other’s vessels to fish in each other’s waters.”

The DUP representative for the Kilkeel area, Jim Wells, said the Irish navy had been heavy-handed in their actions.

“The men weren’t doing anything illegal, it was a gentleman’s agreement which is being contested in the courts,” he said.

“There is no need for a gunboat to arrive that had the power to take out both boats with one shot.

“That is not required for two little fishing boats from Kilkeel who were carrying nothing more dangerous than a fax machine.

“People in the community cannot understand how two little trawlers fishing for crabs started a diplomatic incident.

“All that was required was a chat with the two skippers, not something that could’ve blown them to smithereens if they wanted to.

“It’s like something Arnold Schwarzenegger would have.”

The Voisinage agreement, which collapsed months after the Brexit referendum, was a reciprocal understanding between the UK and Irish Republic dating back to the mid-1960s which allowed vessels from Northern Ireland to fish in Irish inshore waters (zero to six nautical miles from shore) and vice versa.

But the agreement hit the rocks in late 2016 when a number of Irish fishermen took a case to the state’s Supreme Court, challenging the right of Northern Ireland vessels to fish in their waters.

The court ruled that Voisinage was an informal agreement of insufficient legal standing to formally grant access to foreign-registered boats.

That decision effectively banned Northern Ireland boats from fishing in Irish inshore waters – a move which affected fishermen north of the border who traded in species such as lobsters, crabs, mussels and whelks.

The UK has continued to recognise the Voisinage agreement so Irish vessels remain free to fish inshore waters around Northern Ireland.