Skipper Fined for Dumping Trash at Sea
A barge skipper has been fined £500 and more than £2,000 in costs, after pleading guilty to dumping trash at sea, the U.K. Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) reported. On the morning of May 26 this year, the barge Beta was traveling from Exmouth to Plymouth, where it would be converted into a floating fish restaurant. In charge of the vessel was Mark Tamburrano, a restaurateur from Plymouth. As the vessel passed close to Torquay Bay, witnesses from the Food Standards Agency and local Environment Health department, who were visiting shell beds nearby, saw items being thrown from the barge, including a number of bin bags with plastic in them, along with gas canisters and a chemical toilet. The witnesses approached the barge and the dumping stopped.
Skipper Fined for Flare Misuse
The skipper of a former fishing vessel has been ordered to pay £3,825 in fines and costs after pleading guilty to firing rocket distress flares when not in need of immediate help. A red distress rocket flare was fired just before the boat torch light procession at this year's Salcombe Harbor Festival - popular with participants and spectators - landing on heathland, whilst still burning. Harbor Master Ian Gibson identified and spoke to the culprit Matthew Yeoman, a 50-year-old from Salcombe, and owner of the converted fishing boat Etoile, as it was clear he was not in need of assistance. Two further rocket flares were later fired further out into the harbor amongst moored boats. This resulted in calls to Brixham Coastguard and a response from the Hope Cove and Salcombe lifeboats.
