Fish dealer fined £10,500

An ornamental fish dealer based near Uckfield has been ordered to pay almost 10,500 in fines and costs for illegally bringing two hundred live sturgeon into the UK.

Paul Hilliam last week admitted illegally importing the fish and failing to notify the relevant authorities of his activities, at Folkestone Magistrates Court.

The court heard how State Veterinary Service Officers, acting on information from the Fish Health Inspectorate at DEFRA, intercepted the consignment en route from Belgium at the port of Dover on June 10 this year. They discovered a small transport tank in the back of a four-wheel drive vehicle, which contained the fish. When questioned, Mr Hilliam was unable to produce any of the required health check documents.

In passing sentence, the chair of the magistrates spoke of the possible disastrous consequences of such illegal imports and said that the court had a duty to protect the country's fish from disease.

The fish were held in isolation and later humanely destroyed by a Fish Health Inspector, in order to prevent the risk of any potential disease spreading and affecting fish stocks in the UK.

Sturgeon's distinctive scale patterns, primitive appearance and potentially large size make them popular companion fish to large koi carp in many garden ponds and as smaller specimens for indoor aquaria. The fish imported by Mr Hilliam measured between 10 and 15 centimetres in length.

He was ordered to pay 3,000 in respect of each of the two offences plus 4,490 costs.