Sea fisheries inspectors yesterday carried out a detailed investigation of alleged fishing offences by the latest Irish tuna boat to be detained by the Naval Service following the weekend granting of a court order to have the boat held for 48 hours.
Judge Tim Lucey made the order at a special sitting of Cobh District Court on Saturday night in respect of the Dingle-registered Golden Feather. Sea fisheries inspector Mr Jim Condon told the sitting that fisheries inspectors needed more time to examine the Golden Feather's gear following its detention by the LE Aoife some 400 miles off the Irish coast.
Earlier, Sub-Lieut Olan O'Keeffe, of the Aoife, told the court how he boarded the Golden Feather at 4.25 p.m. on Friday and identified himself to the skipper, Mr Arthur Hand, of Ballyhea, Dingle, Co Kerry.
He found the boat's papers to be in order. The logbook showed there were no fish on board and there was none in the hold. Mr Hand told him they were on their way to the fishing grounds and the net in his net pen - which was 2.16km - was his only one. Sub-Lieut O'Keeffe said that at 4.40 p.m., the Aoife's commanding officer, Lieut Cdr Pearse O'Donnell, told him the ship had found an unattended fishing net upwind and up-sea of the Golden Feather.
"This is the likely position of a tuna vessel having shot a drift net recently," said Sub-Lieut O'Keeffe, adding the Aoife found an orange marker buoy marked SO-812 and he later found a similarly marked buoy on board the Golden Feather.
He cautioned Mr Hand for being in possession of a drift net in excess of 2.5km and told him the Aoife, the Fisheries Monitoring Centre in Haulbowline and his own monitoring unit all plotted him as having been stopped at the vicinity at the time.
He said he told Mr Hand he believed the unattended net belonged to the Golden Feather but Mr Hand denied this and twice refused to haul the net, despite being told he would face charges of obstructing a sea fisheries protection officer.
"I again asked the skipper to haul this net, he replied that his crew were not willing to haul but that he would. At this point, the crew, who had been on the bridge, went down below decks," Sub-Lieut O'Keeffe told the court.
Sub-Lieut O'Keeffe measured the unattended net at 1.629km, while he also retrieved samples of floats and mesh from the drift net and all marker buoys which matched the fishing gear in the Golden Feather's net pen.
"I again asked him to haul the nets; he replied he would, but his crew would have no part in it," said Sub-Lieut O'Keeffe, adding he then told Mr Hand he was detaining him for having a drift net in excess of 2.5km and for obstructing a sea fisheries protection officer.
He instructed Mr Hand to proceed with the LE Aoife to the Naval base at Haulbowline, where at 8.10 p.m. on Saturday, he handed over custody of the Golden Feather and its documentation to the Garda.
Garda Karla Fay told the court she had received custody of the Golden Feather and informed Mr Hand of his entitlement to attend the court hearing, but he had opted not to.
Judge Lucey noted there was no appearance by or for Mr Hand and no objection to the detention and he granted the order allowing the Golden Feather to be detained until 9.38 p.m. today.
