10/09/2009 - Shellfish gangmaster prosecuted
A man has become the first gangmaster to be prosecuted and fined for the illegal gathering of shellfish under laws introduced after the Morecambe Bay tragedy.
Harold Benson of Flookburgh, Cumbria, was fined £600 and ordered to pay £4,000 in costs after pleading guilty to contravening the Gangmasters (Licensing) Act.
The conviction came after the discovery of five migrant workers picking cockles without a licence in 2007 - four of whom had to be rescued by a lifeboat five miles from the Morecambe Bay shore.
Similar circumstances ended in death in 2004 when 23 Chinese cockle pickers were cut off by rising tidal waters and drowned.
Paul Whitehouse, chairman of the Gangmasters Licensing Authority said: "The teamwork demonstrated in this case between the local sea fisheries committee and ourselves should act as a warning to anyone else looking to break the rules."
Copyright © Press Association 2009
Related links
|
