Two fishermen from Warsash have been ordered to pay a combined £4,720 after a drone operated by the Southern Inshore Fisheries and Conservation Authority (IFCA) recorded their vessel dredging for scallops inside a protected area off the Isle of Wight, according to the authority's compliance outcomes page.
The authority says that "On Wednesday 7th October 2026 at Portsmouth Magistrate’s Court, Peter Marshall, who is 60 years of age from Warsash, and 40 year old Benjamin Lewis, also from Warsash, pleaded guilty to a breach of the Southern Inshore Fisheries & Conservation Authority’s (IFCA) Bottom Towed Fishing Gear Byelaw."
How the drone was used
According to the authority, "The court heard how on the morning of Thursday the 5th of March 2026, officers from the Southern IFCA saw the fishermen Peter Marshall and Benjamin Lewis dredging for scallops from their fishing vessel Benjamin Guy SU177 within the South Wight prohibited area."
It says: "Using a drone equipped with a powerful camera, laser range finder and GPS, the officers were able to track the fishing vessel and observe the actions of those on board."
The authority adds: "The data recorded by the drone was analysed and the vessel was found to have dredged within the prohibited area for approximately 2 hours and 21 minutes by as much as 1249.15 metres."
It also says: "An inspection of the vessel’s catch on the same day revealed a catch of 645kg of scallops, worth approximately £1,161 at 1st sale value."
What the area protects
The authority says the byelaw "protects designated features of Marine Protected Areas via year-round spatial prohibitions to bottom towed fishing gear, which in this instance were protecting the designated features of both the South Wight Maritime Special Area of Conservation and the Bembridge Marine Conservation Zone."
The sentence
According to the authority, "The District Judge ruled that the actions of the fishermen were significantly reckless and posed a real risk of localised harm to the marine environment."
It says: "Mr. Marshall was fined £1,600 plus a victim surcharge of £640, whilst Mr. Lewis was fined £1,200 plus a victim surcharge of £480. Both were ordered to pay £400 towards the prosecution’s costs, making a total of £4,720 in combined fines and costs."
Gordon Chittenden, Head of Compliance and Enforcement at Southern IFCA, said: "Southern IFCA remains committed to working constructively with all stakeholders to support understanding and compliance. However, where individuals choose to disregard the regulations, we will continue to take firm and proportionate enforcement action."
Not the first drone case this year
The same page records a separate Poole Harbour case sentenced on 10 September 2026, in which "Officers from the Southern IFCA gathered evidence of the offending via drone, catch return data, vessel inspection, and GPS tracks recorded by the fishing vessel’s Inshore Vessel Monitoring System (I-VMS)."
The authority does not name the drone model it uses.