A team from the Sea Fisheries Protection Authority has begun an inspection of a German-registered factory supertrawler after it was detained off the southwest coast of Ireland for suspected fishing offences.
The team begun their inspection of the 116m Helen Mary when it docked at Tivoli Docks in the Port of Cork following its detention 65 nautical miles off Mizen Head within the Irish Exclusive Economic Zone late on Sunday.
The Helen Mary was detained by the European Fisheries Control Agency (EFCA) patrol vessel, Ocean Protector, for allegedly having a defective ladder in breach of EU fishing regulations. An EFCA Inspector was unable to board the factory supertrawler due to the defective ladder.
The fishing vessel, which has a crew of over 50 and storage capacity for 7,000 tonnes of fish, was fishing for scad or horse mackerel, which is highly valued in Japan, when it was detained.
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Under EU regulations, the Helen Mary can be detained for up to 48 hours for alleged breaches of EU fishing regulations. After this period, the vessel has to be either charged in relation to the alleged breaches or released.
The Ocean Protector is one of three inspection platforms chartered by the EFCA, which is headquartered in Vigo in Northen Spain and is charged with ensuring that the EU’s common fisheries policy is applied properly in EU territorial waters.
