The skipper of a shellfish trawler has been found guilty of illegal fishing in a marine protected zone on Scotland’s north west coast.
Alex Murray was convicted yesterday following a three-day trial at Stornoway Sheriff Court.
The 56-year-old, of Lewis, was in charge of the FV Star of Annan while it was operating within the Wester Ross Marine Protection Area.
Hosted in the marine eco-system are flame shell beds, burrowing sea cucumbers and northern feather star plants, as well as ‘carpets’ of purple-pink hard seaweed called maerl.
Dredge fishing involves towing solid metal framed nets over the seabed to flip scallops out of the sand.
Sheriff Gordon Lamont deferred sentence for two weeks at the same court.
Murray had denied a charge of dredging for scallops in the banned area on 18th July 2019.
Skipper blamed faulty gear
During the trial he maintained the fishing equipment was stuck underneath the vessel and could not be properly hauled back in due to engine and hydraulic machinery problems.
The Oban registered FV Star of Annan only entered the protection zone to seek shelter for the safety of the crew and vessel due to the engine and machinery troubles, he said.
Repairs were being attempted and fuel filters changed in efforts to get the winches back in action.
Fishing dredges were partly below the sea surface because they “could only get the gear up so far.”
The hydraulic problems meant “you can’t fish” as the winches are connected to the dredging gear, he told the court
FV Star of Annan was required to navigate at slow speed to stop the vessel rolling in the sea swell and weather conditions, he told the court.
They faced a “dangerous situation” if the wires behind the boat got tangled together in the prevailing sea state the trial heard.
Signs of damage to seabed
A yachtsman observing with binoculars on the Spirit of June told the court he was “100%” certain the dredger was fishing.
His crew mate said she observed the vessel “pulling something behind it.”
Later that day, the vessel was “marking wires” and not fishing when spotted by two crew onboard an Ullapool-based prawn creel boat said Murray.
Diver Alexander Mackenzie told the court he investigated underwater six days later and recorded signs of dredge fishing on the sea bottom.
Defence advocate Rosalyn McTaggart highlighted there was nothing distinctively linking the seabed dredge markings to the MFV Star of Annan or even the date.
She pointed out the boat’s speed was “consistent with making repairs and marking wires” as it struggled with machinery faults and the effects of the swell.
Procurator fiscal Miriam Clark told Sheriff Gordon Lamont the vessel’s manoeuvres, movement pattern and speeds, were “all consistent with fishing.”
Despite Murray maintaining safety issues with his “engine acting up and the vessel losing power … he makes his way back out to the swell of the Minch,” she said.
