By Modou Kanteh
The ministry of fisheries has imposed administrative fines on nine fishing vessels arrested in April for violating the country’s Fisheries Act. The vessels were also issued with warning letters.
The offending vessels are: Al Sidrah, Sama Ans El, Alfarouq, Zherui, Majilac 5, Majilac 6, Fengkai 011, Superfly 01 and Superfly 04.
Three of them, Al Sidrah, Alfarouq and Sama Ans El as first offenders were each fined D750,000.00 while Majilac 5, Majilac 6, Superfly 01 and Superfly 04 were each fined D1 million. Meanwhile Fengkai 011 was fined D1.5 million while Zherui was fined D5 million.
The fines were determined following a consultative meeting approved by Fisheries Minister Musa Drammeh to examine the nature of the offences committed by the vessels.
According to the ministry, in June, Minister Drammeh approved the recommendations of the committee and imposed the fines as per the Fisheries Act.
The fisheries minister has already sent a letter to the director of fisheries for further action.
According to Section 97 subsections 3 and 4 of the Fisheries Act, any vessel involved in infringement can opt for a court or out-of-court settlement within 30 days.
The nine fined companies chose to settle the matter out of court.
