Fraud Pays Well in Scotland
A group of Scottish fishermen have been order to pay back 1.1 pounds for large scale illegal fishing between 2002-2005 in Scotland’s Shetland islands.
Scottish Fish Fraud Pays Off
Yet, it is estimated that the around 47.5 million pounds of illegally caught fish was landed and this netted the companies 10’s of millions.
Did No-One Notice
What is hard to understand is how so large scale fraud could have gone on unnoticedd by other fishermen, players in the market or enforcement agencies.
What Would Happen With Self Rule
This is a close community in a country demanding self determination.
The SNP are close to their fishing industry. They hold their fishing industry up as the model for Europe. The challenge is that this is an industry who at the time said they had ended the old ways. This was a time when blackfish landings were not meant to be happening.
Strangely, for an industry who are so keen to embrace the press, there is no press release from the Scottish Fishermen’s Federation on their site.
A european fisheries model?
This pitiful penalty sets a dangerous precedent. It shows crime pays. It shows that even in a country who claim to have the highest standards that rampant illegal fishing went unchecked. And, this is from an industry who have demanded self governance backed by a government who demands self governance.
Is this the tip of the iceberg?
It would be interesting to know what would be found if a simple audit of the industry happened today. And, perhaps the Scottish enforcement agencies could copy thorough enforcement measures that the Norwegian coast guard use the Scottish fleet when they enter Norway’s waters to discard fish.