Fisherman fined after trying to thwart officials

62-year-old pleads guilty to charges

A fishing boat skipper from Ramsey has been fined £6,000 after refusing to let officials inspect his catch and dumping excess queenies into the sea.

Sixty-two-year-old Melvin Reid, of Queens Valley, appeared before magistrates at Douglas courthouse.

He pleaded guilty to two charges of obstructing fishing officials on 24 August last year at Peel Breakwater.

Prosecution advocate Roger Kane told the court Department of Environment, Food and Agriculture officers met Reid’s boat, Our Sarah Jane, as it moored in Peel.

When officials tried to see if Reid's catch was over-quota, he untied the boat and sailed 400 yards away where he threw eight bags of scallops overboard – they were later found by a diving team.

And when one official tried to check his catch diary Reid said it might hold naked pictures of his wife before snatching it back and throwing it overboard.

Magistrates heard Reid had been a fisherman for 40 years and had been convicted of breaching fishing rules in 2008 and 2018.

He was also ordered to pay £2,918 towards prosecution costs.