Duncan (left) and Ramsay failed to declare their true landings

Skipper John Duncan and first mate Jerry Ramsay admitted illegally landing fish worth �3.5m. They have already been ordered to repay almost �1m.

The part-owners of the Shetland-based Altair hid the true quantities of mackerel and herring landed in Denmark.

The judge, Lord Bracadale, described the offence as a cynical and deliberate policy to under-declare catches.

At the High Court in Edinburgh, Lord Bracadale imposed fines on the two men totalling �90,000 "to deter others" who might be inclined to operate in a similar fashion.

Undeclared landings

He added: "These regulations are part of a scheme for the conservation and management of fish stocks.

"These specifically require a continuing sense of responsibility on the part of all operators in the fishing industry."

Duncan, 57, was fined �50,000 and 51-year-old Ramsay, was fined �40,000.

Neither of the men commented as they left court.

The two men used the Altaire fishing boat to illegally land fish

Defence lawyers had said the practice of fishing over quota was widespread at the time.

They also said no attempt had been made to conceal the money made on the undeclared landings.

The two fishermen have already repaid almost �1m of the profit they made between March 2000 and March 2002.

Shetland fishermen catch half the allowable UK quota of North Sea herring and mackerel.

Duncan and Ramsay unloaded 17,085 tonnes of mackerel over 20 landings in Denmark, declaring to the Scottish Fisheries Protection Agency that they had landed just 10,031 tonnes.

Advocate depute Robert Weir, prosecuting, said an officer at the Scottish Fisheries Protection Agency became suspicious about an "unusually small" catch landed in Denmark.

'Falsified records'

The Danish authorities were asked to check other landings and Mr Weir added: "These revealed what appeared to be a scheme operated by the accused in which they falsified records submitted to the SFPA by under-declaring the weight of fish landings in Denmark.

"It allowed them to catch and land more fish than they were legally entitled to by their quota."

Duncan and Ramsay initially faced a charge of fraud, which was dropped when they admitted the statutory breach of fishing rules.

Mr Weir added: "This was not a victimless crime. The waters round the UK are a valuable resource for a number of fishermen and auxiliary industries."

The Danish authorities studied other landings

David Burns QC, defending Duncan, said he was a father-of-three with two grown-up sons employed in the fishing industry.

Duncan left school at 15 to work in a fish factory and first put up the money for a share in his own boat at the age of 22.

Mr Burns said fishing "over-quota" was widespread in the industry, there had been no attempt to conceal the illegal profits and Duncan had paid tax on them.

Gordon Jackson QC, for Ramsay, said: "It is a criminal offence but it is not criminality as we know it. Everything was put through the books."

The men were given a month to pay their fines.