Irish Naval Service crew boards super trawler Margiris off Donegal

The LÉ James Joyce, as part of their fishery protection patrol duties, conducted an inspection on board the massive super trawler Margiris currently trawling off the Donegal coast.

The FV Margiris, the second largest trawler in the world, became a major cause for concern when it was spotted lurking outside Irish waters last week. Yesterday the Lithuanian registered trawler entered Irish waters and made its way up the west coast of Ireland to around 50 kilometers off Donegal where it began fishing.

The crew of the LÉ James Joyce boarded the FV Margiris earlier today and conducted an inspection to make sure the ship was not engaged in any illegal fishing activity.













The team from the LÉ James Joyce conducted fishing gear inspections while onboard.

All inspection details are relayed back to the captain by the boarding team.

The Margiris trawled Irish waters last year and caused some serious fishing industry and environmental concern. The over-sized trawler can process as much as 250 tonnes of fish per day and has been banned from Australian waters.

Earlier this year a suspicious number of dolphin strandings on Ireland’s west coast were widely believed to be caused by super trawler activity. The number of deaths and the discovery of rope marks on the tails of dolphins led some to believe the dolphins were caught by trawlers active in the area at the time, and subsequently disposed.