Shetland 'black fish'

£47.5m Shetland 'black fish' scam details revealed

the fishermen to land more mackerel and herring than they were allowed under EU quotas.

Scales at Lerwick-based processing company Shetland Catch Ltd were set to underestimate the weight of the fish being landed by the boats.

Seventeen skippers have previously admitted their part in the scam.

Earlier this month they were ordered to hand over almost £3m in confiscation orders.

They are due to be sentenced next month.

The BBC had challenged the reporting restrictions which had prevented the reporting of the extent of the false declarations to the Scottish Fisheries Protection Agency, and the method used to make the undeclared landings.

Proper weight

Weighing scales at Shetland Fisheries were linked to computer screens showing the weight of fish landed.

The screen in the main floor of the fisheries, which was viewed by SFPA officials, was set to give a lower weight of fish than had been landed.

The proper weight was displayed on a screen in the engineer's room, in a part of the operation which was off limits to SFPA officials.

The SFPA had launched an investigation due to suspicions of widespread illegal landing of pelagic fish.

Accountants found that Shetland Catch Ltd's outgoings could not be supported by declared earnings.

Confiscation orders

The company has been taken over since its involvement in the scam, which took place between February 2003 and March 2005.

The 17 skippers have been ordered to pay back sums ranging from £2,700 to £425,900. The confiscation orders are:

Laurence Irvine, 66, of Aviemore, Symbister, Whalsay - £210,700; Gary Williamson, 52, of Norvag, Symbister, Whalsay - £118,500; William Williamson, 64, of Westerlea, Symbister, Whalsay - £213,200; George Henry, 60, of Noonsbrough, Clousta, Bixta - £51,300; John Stewart, 56, of 57 King Harald Street, Lerwick - £41,300, and Colin Leask, 38, of Vaarhjem; Simbister, Whalsay - £12,000.

David Hutchison, 66 of Ankerhus, Hillhead, Symbister - £140,900 Robert Polson, 48, of 17 Breiwick Road, Lerwick - £371,300; Thomas Eunson, 56, of Westwinds, Symbister - £140,500; Allen Anderson, 55, of Solvei, Symbister - £2,700; John Irvine, 68, of Braeside, Symbister - £236,000 and Allister Irvine, 63, of Karinya, Symbister - £120,600.

Victor Buschini, 51, of Cuckoos Nest, Kiln Lane, Hambleton, Poulton Le Flyde, Lancashire - £341,000, and Hamish Slater, 52, of 8 Strichan Road, Fraserburgh - £425,900.

George Anderson, 55, of Harbourview, Symbister - £40,700; Alexander Masson, 65, of 89 Strichen Road, Fraserburgh - £283,000 and Alexander Wiseman, 60, of 3 Sandyhills Gardens, Banff - £196,000.

hydrothermal vent

The team used an underwater robot to film the creatures living around the hydrothermal vent (Footage: University of Southampton)

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Remarkable images of life from one of the most inhospitable spots in the ocean have been captured by scientists.

Researchers have been surveying volcanic underwater vents - sometimes called black smokers - in the South West Indian Ridge in the Indian Ocean.

The UK team found an array of creatures living in the super-heated waters, including yeti crabs, scaly-foot snails and sea cucumbers.

They believe some of the species may be new to science.

Hydrothermal vents were first discovered in 1977. These fissures in the ocean floor spew out fiercely hot, mineral-rich water, yet somehow, diverse ecosystems are able to thrive in these hostile conditions.

The team, from the University of Southampton, was particularly interested in the vents on the South West Indian Ridge because this range is linked to the Mid Atlantic Ridge and the Central Indian Ridge, where vent life has been well documented.

This area is also unusual because it is an "ultra-slow spreading" ridge, which means it is less volcanically active than other ridges, with fewer vents that are further apart.

Dr Jon Copley, chief scientist of the Indian Ocean vents project, said: "This place is a real crossroads in terms of the vent species around the world."

Using a remote-operated, underwater robot called Kiel 6000, from the Leibniz Institute of Marine Sciences (IFM Geomar), in Germany, the team was able to train their cameras on the vents.

In the hottest habitat around the black smokers, they found snails and shrimp, as well as mussels, sea cucumbers and crabs. They then compared these with the animals found at vents on the neighbouring ridges.

Dr Copley said: "I was expecting there to be some similarities to what we know from the Atlantic, and some similarities to what we know from the Indian Ocean vents, and that was true, but we also found types of animals here which are not known from either of those neighbouring areas, and that was a big surprise.

"One was a type of yeti crab. There are two currently described species of yeti crab known from the Pacific, and it isn't like those, but it is the same type of animal, with long, hairy arms.

The team used an underwater robot to find creatures, such as this scaly-foot snail, around the vents in the Indian Ocean

"Also some sea cucumbers - not known from the Atlantic or Central Indian vents, but known from the Pacific."

He added: "We've got links to lots of different parts of the world here, which is very exciting."

The team was also surprised at the diversity of life they found during this expedition, which was funded by the Natural Environment Research Council (Nerc).

Dr Copley said: "In a lot of other vent fields I've been to, in this hot zone where you get the animals there is often just one type of animal living there: in the deep Mid Atlantic Ridge, it's the shrimp. But here, we have seen three to four all in the same zone."

There was a diverse mix of creatures, including this stalked barnacle, around the vents

The findings should help researchers to learn more about how life moves from vent to vent: vents are short lived, and without the ability to hop from one system to the next, life there would go extinct.

"That is why vents are a great place to understand how species disperse and evolve in the deep oceans, because they are like little islands," Prof Copley added.

Despite these findings, the researchers are worried about the future of this underwater terrain.

China has been granted an exploratory licence by the International Seabed Authority to explore the potential of mining the vents in this area for their rich minerals.

Dr Copley said: "This vent field is the size of a few football pitches, and it seems possible that it is the only known range of some of these species.

"It would be very premature to start disrupting it before we really know the true extent of what lives in it."

Shrimp like this one may be under threat from deep-sea mining