Fishing gear 'dumped deliberately', says RNLI
DELIBERATE dumping of fishing gear is totally irresponsible and can cause serious damage, St Peter Port lifeboat operations manager Captain Peter Gill has said, after a local boat got caught up.
The vessel, Fair Douze, had its propeller fouled by a large quantity of abandoned nets and the lifeboat had to be sent out to bring it back into St Peter Port.
'This was deliberately dumped. It's not on,' said the former harbour master. 'It is not acceptable to dump that amount of waste that is not degradable.
The motorboat was caught about seven nautical miles north-east of Sark, according to reports.
The call to Guernsey Coastguard came from Escapade, a vessel which had the Fair Douze under tow.
Restaurateur Nello Ciotti, the owner of the damaged vessel, said when he left the coast of France that morning, he had agreed to keep in contact with another boat, given the rough conditions.
His vessel suddenly stopped when it became entangled and would not restart.
'The problem was bigger than the usual bit of rope or net around the propeller,' he said.
