Pursuant to fishing legislation, the Swedish Agency for Marine and Water Management may decide to impose a special fine, so-called landing fine, by the person who lands an unauthorised catch. Landing is the first unloading of fishing product from a fishing vessel on to land.
In the case, the Swedish Agency for Marine and Water Management had decided to impose on the captain of a fishing vessel a special fine in the amount of approximately SEK 160,000. The captain was employed by the limited company that conducted the fishing activities. The captain claimed that he was the wrong person on whom to impose the fine since the revenues from the catch did not inure to him but, rather, to the limited company which conducted the commercial operation.
The question was whether the captain of a fishing vessel is the person who lands the catch and is thereby the one who shall pay a special fine for landing an unauthorised catch, so-called landing fine, when the operation is conducted by a limited company.
The Supreme Administrative Court noted that, based on the wording of the provisions on landing fees, it is not obvious that it is the captain who should be referred to as “the person who lands”. However, according to the Supreme Administrative Court, it is the captain who is responsible for the manner in which the fishing is conducted and is the person who chooses the catching methods and fishing locations. It is therefore the captain, in his capacity as the responsible fisherman, who has the possibility to minimize unauthorised bycatches. It is also the captain who actually lands the relevant catch after a fishing trip. In light of this, the Supreme Administrative Court found that it is the captain of a fishing vessel who shall be deemed to be the person who lands a catch in and is thereby the person who shall pay a special fine for landing unauthorised catches. According to the Supreme Administrative Court, the fact that the fishing operation was conducted by a limited company is thus immaterial to the question regarding who is to be deemed to have landed the catch. Two of the five justices of the Court had a dissenting opinion.