Originally Posted by Press and Journal
We’ve been treated like drug dealers, says trawlerman after he and son were locked up
By Jamie Buchan
Published: 17/04/2009
One of the stars of BBC TV’s Trawlermen series, who was jailed after trying to pay back a hefty court penalty imposed for over-fishing, is out of prison.
Charlie McBride spoke for the first time last night after he and his son, Charles, were locked up for a total of three months at Liverpool Crown Court for failing to comply with a confiscation order.
The father-and-son team, who fish out of Peterhead and Fraserburgh on the trawler Arcane, had been convicted of under-declaring prawn and white-fish landings from trips in the Irish Sea in 2007. They were fined a total of £385,774, which they discussed openly during the third series of the BBC’s groundbreaking Trawlermen documentary.
The pair were sent to jail, not for breaking strict fishing regulations, but for trying to pay off the fines by borrowing against their homes, which had been frozen by the Serious Organised Crime Agency.
Their imprisonment prompted calls for Defra, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, and other agencies to stop stripping fishermen of their assets using proceeds-of-crime legislation.
An online petition has attracted more than 1,000 signatures from throughout the UK. Now after serving nearly half his two-month sentence at Liverpool Prison, Mr McBride sen is back at his home at Kilkeel, Co Down, Northern Ireland.
His son, who attempted to pay more of the fine, will not be freed for another two weeks.
Speaking exclusively to the Press and Journal last night, Mr McBride revealed that, with nearly £300,000 of the fine still to pay, he faces further court action. “I might be out of prison,” the 55-year-old said, “but I'm not out of the woods. While I was inside I received so many messages of support from all over the country, it was very touching. Next week I will be back to Fraserburgh and back out to sea. I need to make up for a lot of lost time. It’s the only way I can expect to start paying off this fine.”
Mr McBride said he and his son had asked for extra time to pay off the penalty, which was due by June last year.
They were told they could have an extension, but would have to pay £100,000 up front.
To raise the cash, they remortgaged their homes. He said: “When we told them where the money came from, we were told what we had done was a contempt of court. We feel like we’ve been treated like drug dealers, not fishermen who are trying to do their jobs in very difficult circumstances.”
Mr McBride’s release from prison has been filmed for the next series of Trawlermen, due to be broadcast this summer.
