Fisherman Cops Fine After Letters on Boat too Small

A 42-year-old fisherman from the Croatian coastal town of Pula is beside himself after copping a fine because the letters of the name of his boat were deemed to be too small…

Silvio Licul says that he has yet to be informed about how much he will have to pay, but if he gets the prescribed maximum he will be appealing.

“I have not been sent the final judgement yet and I have no idea how much it will be, If the fine is 12,000 kuna (close to 200 EUR), as the law says, then I will appeal,” said the fisherman to daily 24sata.

According to the law, letters (name) on fishing boats up to 17 metres must be at least 25 centimetres high, and 4 centimetres wide. For fishing boats longer than 17 metres, then the letters must be at least 45 centimetres high and 6 centimetres wide. Inspectors have for the past three weeks been out ‘in the field’ issuing infringements. Licul says that fisherman were never properly informed about the laws.  Fines range from 500-550 EUR for small boats – to 1,800 EUR for larger boats.