Seanad debates
Wednesday, 22 March 2006
Sea-Fisheries and Maritime Jurisdiction Bill 2005: Committee Stage.
As the Minister said, these issues could be cleared up in the District Court, but a lot of time will be wasted by going through that process. For example, bluefish fishermen have already exceeded their quotas for this year. Time is important for fishermen. We need to deal with those who are flouting the law, but the men who are acting within best practice, guidelines and regulations may see officers with firearms boarding their vessels, have their gear and boats confiscated and be detained for a period of 48 hours when it may transpire that, due to some numerical mistake on a log book, they may not have broken the law.
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