Shoals of Herring

The other day it was reported that 17 Scottish fishermen were fined a massive £720,000 - for their part in the UK's biggest fraud involving illegally caught 'black fish' - £63 million worth to be precise.

Now it's good that these people have been caught and that they will not benefit from the proceeds of their crimes - but I would send them to jail.

Because they have betrayed the whole fishing industry which regularly challenges scientific evidence over the threat to fishing stocks - by arguing that quotas are not really necessary - that they should be abandoned or at least reduced.

The argument being that Scottish fishermen are the best guardians and custodians of the industry - whose long-term interests lie in keeping stocks healthy.

So that future generations can continue to earn an honest living - as opposed to simply fishing the seas dry for short-term gain.

Which has happened in some parts of the world of course - Newfoundland for example - where the greed of a small number of people emptied the seas and killed off an entire fishing industry - for good.

And this was no small time operation - the fraud was sophisticated, highly organised and extended over several years - until the long arm of the law caught up with the people concerned.

Three Scottish fish processing factories were involved in the scam - along with the 17  fishermen who have since been forced to pay back nearly £3m in profits they made - from their ill-gotten gains.

But they have trashed the reputation of a whole industry and made fools of their fellow fishermen - who have played by the rules all along.

So a spell in the slammer would be justified to my mind - these people are a disgrace and deserve to have the book thrown at them - for their behaviour.