Dorset's fishermen say vandalism, illegal fishing and theft are hurting their livelihood - and have accused the police of being 'uninterested'.

Joe Miller, who fishes out of Lulworth Cove, was speaking after a man, who had been arrested for stealing lobster from Mr Miller's pots, was released with a police caution.

The 39-year-old Bournemouth man had admitted to stealing a number of live lobster from the traps on Sunday, June 24.

And Mr Miller told the Echo that with such lenient consequences, he expected further thefts, noting that the latest incident was the fourth this year alone - with up to 30 kilograms, worth some £300, being taken each time.

"It makes me feel like the police aren't interested," said Mr Miller, who comes from a long-standing family of Lulworth fishermen. "I hope the person involved sees the error of his ways, but I wouldn't be surprised if it happens again within the next year."

He voiced his suspicion that hobby-fishers who visit the coast during the fine weather were often behind thefts of crab and lobster from commercial pots.

"It's an ongoing problem all along the coast here," he noted.

"In the summertime, and especially when the weather's good, every man and his dog's down here, and they don't respect local fishermen."

Mr Miller also argued that fishing laws were not properly applied to leisure fishers.

"I'm a commercial fisherman, and I have to fill in a logbook for everything I catch - there's a paper trail," he explained.

He pointed to quotas on sea-bass as an example of rules he was obliged to follow but that hobby-fishers felt able to ignore, as well as bans on catching threatened or near-threatened species such as small-eye ray and undulate ray.

Andy Alcock, secretary of the Weymouth and Portland Licensed Fishermen's Association, agreed that crime was 'a massive problem' for the marine industry.

"Fishermen are constantly having nets stolen, equipment stolen, boats vandalised," Mr Alcock said. "These are people's livelihoods. But police won't even investigate. Parking tickets take precedence."

Dorset Echo:

Weymouth fisherman Andy Alcock

He claimed that his association had recorded 51 cases of marine crime in Weymouth Harbour in the last seven months alone - with not a single arrest.

Mr Alcock also concurred with Joe Miller about the problem of unlicensed fishing.

"We report unlicensed boats on a daily basis," he said. "We watch them sail out of the harbour with pots and nets - even a trawl-line.

"But it's easier for the authorities to chase a legal boat than an illegal one. It's too much paperwork for them."

Dorset Police said the Lulworth lobster thief had been issued with a caution because it was the first time the man had come to police attention.

Neighbourhood Inspector Steve Yeoman meanwhile added that the the neighbourhood policing team 'takes marine crime as seriously as all other crime in Weymouth'.

“We work very closely with officers from the marine section who patrol the waterside," Insp. Yeoman said. "We also work very closely with the Harbourmaster to ensure any offenders are caught and brought to justice.

“We would advise any members of the marine community to approach officers from the marine section with any specific concerns they may have.”