Mayo farmer pleads guilty to illegal use of net and boat for fishing

A sixty-two-year-old Mayo farmer pleaded guilty to two charges under the Fisheries Act when he appeared before Castlebar District Court.

Humphrey O’Leary, Clare Island, had claimed he was only using the net for collecting bait when he was found trawling a net from a boat on the morning of July 12, 2025.

Mr. James Ward, solicitor for Inland Fisheries Ireland, said the defendant was fully cooperative and had no previous convictions.

Fishery officers seized the net and subsequently issued charges against the defendant in relation to the use of a fishing net and boat contrary to the Fisheries Act.

Mr. Ward said the defendant was a farmer who was living on Clare Island and had never been in court before. He said the costs in the case had been agreed at €2,614.

Judge Sandra Murphy imposed a fine of €250 on each of the two charges relating to the net and the use of the boat and allowed the defendant three months to pay the fines as well as the costs.

* Funded under the Courts Reporting Scheme.