TEN skippers, most of them Spanish, were fined and had their fish and gear confiscated, costing them a total of £271,900, for offences committed between last October and February this year.
These included fishing with illegal gear, having more fish on board than they had listed in their log books and fishing in Irish waters before their licensees came into force.
The fines at Cork Circuit Court were welcomed by the Irish Fishermen's Federation which said most of the vessels were Spanish owned but registered in Britain and Ireland.
One of the vessels is registered to O Cathain Iasc Teo owned by a Dingle fish dealer, Mr Eoin Keane, and has a Spanish crew and skipper. It had more than the permitted weight of fish on board, was fined £12,000 and had its gear and fish, each valued at £6,000, confiscated.
O Cathain Iasc employs 80 people. Mr Keane, who is a fish dealer, originally got one of 20 white fish licences awarded by the Government some years ago for non quota fish.
The skippers, eight Spanish, one Irish and one English, all pleaded guilty to the charges which were subject to a maximum fine of £20,000. The biggest fine was £12,000.
Mr Tom Hassett, spokesman for the Irish Fishermen's Federation in the south west, said the major number of offenders inside the Irish fishing box were "flag" ships those registered in a country other than that of the owner. Of the 140 "flag" ships, more than 100 were registered in the UK.
"Because they are British registered they can fish to within 12 miles of our shore. The Spanish now own more than 50 per cent of the EU fleet compared to Ireland, with has 15 per cent of the EU waters, 5 per cent of the catch and just 2 per cent of the fleet. We must get rid of the `flag' ships," he said.
He added that being registered in Britain or Ireland entitled them to a share of the quota of that country, irrespective of where they were from.
A number of other Spanish skippers are due before the Cork Circuit Court today, including one whose catch, gear and vessel were valued and a bond of more than £892,000 lodged.