On March 7, 2 British fishermen and Spanish fishing boat owners were served a huge fine for illegal fishing. In addition to the ignominy of forking out a total of US $391,380, the offenders were convicted on 15 charges of breaching quotas -- 4 of making wrongful landing declarations, 2 of false logbook entries and 4 of catching fish that were not of the permitted size.

The Royal Navy Fisheries Protection Vessel HMS Anglesey zeroed in on the men and their boat 320 km southwest of Britain in August 1994. The boat's logbook revealed it had landed 36 tonnes in excess of its quota during the 6 months before it was impounded.