Norwegian court acquits Irish skippers in herring fishing case, overturning convictions and confiscation orders after systemic failures found. Photo: Hålogaland Court of Appeal, Tromso, Norway
Hålogaland Court of Appeal has acquitted two Irish skippers and their companies in a long-running case over alleged illegal fishing for Norwegian spring-spawning herring.
The ruling overturns earlier convictions and confiscation orders, concluding that the skippers’ lack of knowledge of a long-standing prohibited zone was not negligent and that the enforcement failure lay within the regulatory system itself.
The case concerns Irish nationals Paul O’Sullivan, skipper of the pelagic trawler Ronan Ross, and Adrian O’Sullivan, skipper of the pelagic trawler Sarah David. Both vessels are Irish-registered and operate predominantly from Castletownbere, Ireland. Ronan Ross is owned by Keelbawn Fishing Limited, while Sarah David is owned by ODHL Limited.
The prosecution was brought by the Troms and Finnmark Public Prosecution Authority. Legal representation for both skippers and both companies was provided by lawyer Hallvard Bjørnarsson Østgård.
Background And Origin Of The Case
The charges arose from fishing activity on 18 and 19 October 2023, when Ronan Ross and Sarah David were operating as pair trawlers in Norway’s economic zone. During that period, the vessels conducted two trawl hauls targeting Norwegian spring-spawning herring within a closed area defined in section 59 of Norway’s harvesting regulations.
The prohibited zone, defined by fixed geographical coordinates, has existed since 1998. Norway relies on a notification system whereby regulatory measures are communicated to the European Commission, passed to EU member states and then conveyed to vessel operators through national authorities.
FV Ronan Ross in Killybegs, Ireland in 2024
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The FV Sarah David in Killybegs Harbour, Ireland in February 2024
Events Leading to Enforcement Action
During the fishing operation, one trawl haul was partly inside the closed zone and the second entirely within it. Approximately 45,000 kilograms of herring were taken on board Ronan Ross, while approximately 220,000 kilograms were taken on board Sarah David.
The skippers reported their entry into Norwegian waters through Irish authorities and adjusted their logbooks accordingly. Their Irish licences permitted fishing for herring in Norwegian waters and did not identify any prohibited zones. Both skippers stated that they relied on Ireland’s Fisheries Monitoring Centre to alert them to any regulatory breach.
Proceedings Through the Courts
Nord-Troms and Senja District Court initially convicted both skippers in June 2024, imposing fines and ordering confiscation of catch value from the owning companies. The court accepted that the skippers were unaware of the prohibition but found that their ignorance was not excusable.
The case then moved through a complex sequence of appeals, refusals to hear appeals, Supreme Court intervention and retrial. A new district court judgment in March 2025 again resulted in convictions and confiscation orders, which were appealed by the skippers and by the prosecution on the level of confiscation.
Those appeals were heard by Hålogaland Court of Appeal in October 2025.
Court’s Assessment of Legal Error
The Court of Appeal accepted that the skippers were objectively in breach of the regulation but focused on whether their ignorance of the prohibition was negligent. The court split, with a determining minority concluding that the skippers had done what could reasonably be expected of them within the established international licensing and monitoring system.
The court found it significant that the Irish authorities themselves were unaware of the prohibited zone, despite formal Norwegian notifications having been sent through EU channels, and that the licences issued to the vessels contained no reference to closed areas. The court also noted that the vessels operated under continuous flag-state monitoring and that the Norwegian Coast Guard did not intervene until hours into the fishing activity.
Hålogaland Court of Appeal concluded that holding the skippers criminally liable in those circumstances would be unreasonably strict and that the failure was systemic rather than individual.
Acquittal and Consequences for the Companies
Because the skippers were acquitted, the court held that the legal basis for confiscation under the Marine Resources Act was not met. Although neither Keelbawn Fishing Limited nor ODHL Limited had appealed their confiscation orders, the court found it had the authority to correct the application of the law.
The court therefore acquitted both companies of all confiscation claims, overturning forfeiture orders totalling more than NOK 1.25 million (approx. €110,000).
Final Judgement
Hålogaland Court of Appeal ruled that Paul O’Sullivan and Adrian O’Sullivan are acquitted of all charges and that Keelbawn Fishing Limited and ODHL Limited are acquitted of all confiscation claims. No legal costs were imposed on the skippers or the companies.
Court Criticises System Failure, Not Fishermen
The court found significant failures in the information chain between Norway, the EU and Ireland, which had allowed the closed area notification to go unnoticed at national level.
Judges concluded that holding the skippers responsible for a breakdown in a system designed by the states themselves would be “unreasonably strict”.
As a result, the court ruled that the skippers were not negligent and must therefore be acquitted.
