Environmental organisation Greenpeace has been found guilty of breaking the law by illegally boarding five trawlers in Gilleleje to install concealed GPS surveillance equipment.
Although the action confirmed the suspicion of illegal cod fishing in the Kattegat, and Greenpeace was originally cleared by Helsingør District Court, the prosecution appealed the verdict to the High Court where Greenpeace was today fined DKK25,000 for 'violating the peace in a manner that doesn't justify what it was trying to prove'.
According to the judgement: "Regardless of the fact that the accused were trying to gather evidence for an illegal act they violated the legal rights of the owners of the trawlers."
The lower court had ruled that if Greenpeace hadn't been able to reveal the extent of the illegal fishing with the help of GPS equipment it would have continued, so the illegal entry wasn't unwarranted.
The original court case encouraged the authorities to heightened the control of cod fishers and a number of trawlers have since been seized.
Greenpeace has announced it will appeal today's ruling to the Supreme Court.