A GROUP of fishermen have been ordered to pay almost £10,000 in fines and court costs after admitting a series of fisheries offences uncovered by Cornwall enforcement officers.

Following investigations by Cornwall IFCA (Inshore Fisheries and Conservation Authority), which operates as a committee of Cornwall Council, four men appeared at Truro Magistrates’ Court on April 1, 2026.

James Bate, 36, of Padstow; Jay Jepson, 23, of Newquay and Martin Gilbert, 61, of Newquay, all pleaded guilty to fishing for berried lobsters and failing to return them immediately to the sea, as required under fisheries rules designed to protect breeding stock.

Separately, Gilbert and his son Jake Gilbert, 33, of Newquay, admitted fishing for undersized crawfish and fishing without the appropriate licence authority. Jake Gilbert also pleaded guilty to failing to submit mandatory monthly shellfish catch returns to Cornwall IFCA on three occasions, despite holding a shellfish permit.

The court heard the offences related to activity on two vessels, the Serene PW17 and the Golden Lancer PW15.

The Serene, skippered by Bate and crewed by Jepson, with Martin Gilbert as owner, came under scrutiny after officers boarded the vessel at sea on March 14, 2025. Inspectors discovered hand brushes containing lobster eggs lodged between the bristles, raising concerns berried lobsters had been scrubbed before inspection.

Days later, on March 20, officers observed activity from shore and filmed Bate appearing to scrub eggs from female lobsters. When the vessel returned to Padstow, inspectors found nine female lobsters with remnants of unripe eggs still attached, alongside other lobsters showing signs of cleaning. Fresh lobster eggs were also found embedded in brushes onboard.

Attention then turned to the Golden Lancer, a Newquay-based vessel skippered at different times by Martin Gilbert and son Jake. On May 14, 2025, officers observed crawfish being taken from store pots near Newquay harbour, placed onboard and then returned to the seabed.

Under licence conditions at the time, it was illegal to fish for, retain or store crawfish in the South West before June 1.

A further incident on May 20 saw the vessel again filmed hauling and redeploying pots, with fresh catch added. A subsequent IFCA inspection revealed 26 crawfish stored before the legal season. Four female lobsters also showed evidence of having been scrubbed clean of eggs.

Investigators also found required monthly shellfish returns for March, April and May 2025 had not been submitted.

At sentencing, Martin Gilbert was ordered to pay £3,993 in fines and costs, while Jake Gilbert was fined £3,938. Bate and Jepson were each ordered to pay £948.

Simon Cadman, the principal enforcement officer for Cornwall IFCA said, “The sustainability of lobster and crawfish fisheries are important to many Cornwall based fishers, fishing businesses and coastal communities, which is why legislation is in place to control fishing effort and uptake.

“The blatant disregard for many of the rules which were highlighted by our investigations, is extremely disappointing. I hope these proceedings leading to convictions will encourage them, their skippers and crew to fish responsibly in future.”