A SEAFOOD wholesaler was fined £14,000 after repeatedly failing to register its purchases to a governmental body.
Trawlpac International Limited failed to comply with EU recording and reporting requirements between September 2017 and November 2018.
The Glasgow firm failed to submit sales notes data to Marine Scotland which manages the country’s sea and freshwater fisheries.
Companies by law are required to submit the figures within 24 hours of completion of the sale.
Trawlpac pleaded guilty at Glasgow Sheriff Court to separate charges of the same offence.
The charge states Trawlpac – who are based in the city’s Craigton – committed the offence with consent or connivance or attributable to their neglect.
A written court narrative said that a British Sea Fisheries Officer (BSFO) attempted to contact company director Alan Ingles, 57, in early 2018 about his failure to report his buyer sales note data.
It was revealed that the last time Ingles had logged into report figures to Marine Scotland’s Electronic Reporting System (ERS) was in October 2017.
The BSFO found that the shipping vessel used by Trawlpac had 15 individual landings since October 2017.
A meeting took place with Ingles and the BSFO where he made admissions about not registering the data.
The court document said: “Mr Inglis was cautioned for failing to submit Buyers Sales Note data.
“A quantity of documentation showing the purchase of First Sale Fishery Products amounting to £232,505.50 was seized with the co-operation of Mr Inglis.”
Ingles was interviewed at Ayr Fishery Office in May 2018 but he failed to maintain the reports of the sales data.
No further login attempts to the ERS were made and Ingles was invited to attend another meeting in November 2018.
Brian Fitzpatrick, defending, told the court: “The fish is taken to Glasgow Airport to be transported to the middle east.
“Marine Scotland gave the company a talking to in order to improve their admin…their admin just got on top of them.
“They employ five people and the company were doing good at the time but this has lessened due to the pandemic but are still doing quite well.”
