Leopardess: asset or liability?

At a time when French fishermen have been arguing over their rights post-Brexit, the Leopardess has put to sea 30 times in the last year – but none of those voyages were fishing patrols.

The 30 occasions included transfers of prisoners and detainees, firearms, explosives and equipment, and the recovery of bodies.

It prompted a question from one States member over whether the Leopardess had become ‘more like a glorified sea taxi’.

In normal years the Leopardess would be expected to go out on about 100 fishing patrols, with a total of 500 hours at sea.

The monitoring of fishing vessel movements has continued electronically using the vessel monitoring system for boats over 12 metres.

No unusual activity was detected during this period.

The details were revealed by Deputy Neil Inder, president of Economic Development, following questions by Deputy Adrian Gabriel.

Deputy Gabriel stressed that he was not against the Leopardess and supported the protection of fisheries, but he wanted to understand more about whether the boat was an asset or a liability.

The Leopardess came into service in June 1998 with a planned service life of 20 years.

As part of the States’ capital investment portfolio a proposal was brought to the States in 2015 for a replacement vessel, but a sursis was successfully raised which halted the proposed plan for replacement.

Deputy Inder said the Leopardess was an effective deterrent against unauthorised fishing activity. ‘Since the introduction of the Leopardess and regular fisheries patrols, the number of illegal incursions into Bailiwick waters has greatly reduced,’ he said.

‘Routine boardings entail catch inspections, gear inspection and checks on vessel paperwork.

‘If a vessel is found to be fishing illegally then it is detained to port and the matter is dealt with through the courts.

‘The last vessel to be detained was a UK scalloper which was caught fishing within the 6-mile limit with an illegal set of fishing gear.’