Crews set to get fines paid backroe
The two Shetland fishing crews who were socked with fines of nearly £48,000 by the Faroese are to be compensated by the Scottish government as a gesture of goodwill.
The government has repeatedly maintained that it is not to blame for the communication failure which led to the prosecution of the Venture and Mizpah for fishing in a closed area. The European Commission also denied blame, suggesting it was the UK as member state which failed to inform the boats.
With nobody admitting blame, the Scottish Government has said it will respond the fishermen’s plea to be reimbursed for getting caught out last month.
A government spokesman said this week: “Following this unfortunate chain of events we have acted swiftly to resolve the financial implications for our fleet.”
Mizpah skipper David Robertson said on Wednesday he had heard a payment was to be offered but nothing had come through yet. “I would just like it resolved and that would suit me fine,” he said.
The government said responsibility lay with Faroe to notify community fishing boats operating in its waters when it introduced a real-time closure of fishing grounds.
“Measures are now in place to ensure that such notifications received in future are distributed as quickly as possible to fishing associations,” the spokesman said. “We now consider the matter closed.”
