THE owner of a Bournemouth Vietnamese restaurant has been fined after admitting illegally fishing for sea bass in Poole Harbour.

Tran Doan, owner of Eat Pho in Old Christchurch Road, and his friend, Tran Hoang from Berkshire pleaded guilty to two charges when they appeared before magistrates in Poole.

They were each fined £500 and ordered to pay court costs of £1,500.

The court heard that Doan, 37 and of Northcote Road, Bournemouth and 41-year-old Hoang, of Borderers Gardens, Thatcham were caught in the act by Steve Cullen, who confronted them when they were carrying a bucket of bass in the early hours of August 26 last year.

Mr Cullen said he "saw red" and threw the bucket of fish back in the water. He then filmed one of the men leaving in a vehicle with the words "Eat Pho. Traditional Vietnamese Rice Noodle Soup" on the side.

The pair admitted removing bass from the Poole Harbour nursery area during the summer months and also pleaded guilty to taking bass below the minimum size.

Magistrates were told there is no evidence of the fish being sold through the restaurant.

In a Facebook post after the incident, Doan apologised for his actions and said it was a one-off incident.

He said: "I would like to apologise for my actions which have offended the fishing community. I am not a fisherman, have no experience in fishing and honestly was not aware of the ban.

"If you ever visit our website on our restaurant you would know that we have never served sea bass."

He said they were fishing to relax after work.

Mr Cullen, a burglar alarm fitter from Havant, was sleeping in his Volkswagen Touran while he waited for the tide to come in before going out kayak fishing when he spotted the pair.

The case was brought by the Southern Inshore Fisheries and Conservation Authority.