Three men charged for illegal tuna fishing off Baltimore

THREE men have been prosecuted for illegally fishing for tuna off Baltimore.

The men were legally represented at Skibbereen District Court by solicitor Ruairí Ó Catháin who submitted a guilty plea on their behalf.

One of the men, Brian Hassett of Summerville, Strand Road, Monkstown, Cork, was charged with using his boat in the commission of the offence at Trafraska on October 10th 2022.

Brian Hassett also faced two charges of having on board fishing gear for trolling surface fishing lines, as well as using surface troll fishing lines.

Barry Keohane of 17 Buckley’s Meadows, Blackrock, Cork, was charged with having on board fishing gear for trolling surface fishing lines, and for using surface troll fishing lines.

Conor Jones of Glenagoul, Kildinan, County Court was similarly charged with having on board fishing gear for trolling surface fishing lines, and for using surface troll fishing lines.

According to Vincent Coakley, the solicitor for Inland Fisheries Ireland, new regulations governing the fishing of tuna were introduced in 2020.

The regulations changes brought about a catch-and-release system in some cases, but primarily a number of boats were designated and licensed to fish tuna.

The boat used by the accused was not a designated vessel. And, as observed by fishery officers, all three used the two high-end, expensive rods and reels on board the boat.

‘There were no nets involved,’ said Mr Coakley, ‘and all three are charged with possession and use of the equipment.’

As part of this type of fishing, Mr Coakley said three ‘spreader bars’ were used off the back of the boat and he said this is ‘consistent with fishing for tuna.’

The men had been out since 10am that morning and when they returned at 6pm they were approached by the fishery officers.

According to Mr Coakley, the men had no tuna on board. He acknowledged that none of them had any previous convictions and that each of them co-operated with the authorities.

Their solicitor said they were ‘unclear’ about what was legal under the 2020 legislation and had hidden nothing from the fishery officers.

One of the officers, David Lordan, was asked by Judge James McNulty to explain what spreaders are used for.

Mr Lordan said the implement creates a noise and attracts predatory fish. ‘It is a lure,’ he said, and went on to explain that the stocks were seriously depleted in the 1980s.

‘They are starting to come back again,’ he told the court, ‘and we are trying to protect the stocks that are there.’