Marine and fisheries compliance: referrals of cases to Crown Office
The number of cases referred by Marine Scotland to the Crown Office.
Where it is determined that there is sufficient evidence, and that a prosecution is in the public interest, Marine Directorate refer the case to the Crown Office Procurator Fiscal Service who will decide whether a case can proceed to trial or issue a fiscal fine.
If there is any possibility of identification of living persons from the data, then it will not be published.
It should be noted that:
- reports received are very much at the start of any process, while fixed penalty notices (FPNs) issued and referrals to COPFS are in most cases at the end of a process
- this means that as the data covers the same time period the data may not relate to the same events
Cases referred to Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS)
|
Offence |
1 June 2021 - 30 November 2021 |
1 December 2021 - 30 June 2022 |
1 July 2022 - |
1 January 2023 - 30 June 2023 |
1 July 2023 - 31 December 2023 |
1 January 2024 - 30 June 2024 |
1 July 2024 - 31 December 2024 |
1 January 2025 - 30 June 2025 |
|
Statutory returns offences |
1 |
3 |
6 |
2 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
Fishing gear offences |
0 |
1 |
2 |
0 |
3 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
|
Fishing without authority |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
MPA, and other protected/restricted area offences |
1 |
1 |
2 |
0 |
5 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
|
Marine Licensing |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
Wildlife Crime |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
Unlicensed/Hobby fishing |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
Landing Obligation (Discarding) |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
Vessel tracking requirements |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
|
Gear marking requirements |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
Illegal equipment |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
Other Fishing Licence restrictions |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
Boarding ladders |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
Undersize or prohibited fish/shellfish |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
Other offences not elsewhere classified |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
Total |
2 |
5 |
11 |
3 |
13 |
0 |
2 | 1 |
- reports received are very much at the start of any process, while fixed penalty notices (FPNs) issued and referrals to COPFS are in most cases at the end of a process
- this means that as the data covers the same time period the data may not relate to the same events
