technology contained in "smart bombs''.

Agriculture and Fisheries Director Mr. John Barnes confirmed yesterday that pots were being set and that there have been numerous complaints from irate commercial fishermen who were "playing by the rules''.

Mr. Barnes said the hi-tech approach makes it difficult to catching the lawbreakers.

"They are using GPS (Global Position System) and we cannot trace the pots unless we have their coordinates,'' he said.

Satellite technology was used in so-called `smart bombs' in the 1991 Gulf War, enabling pilots to land bombs in Iraq with pinpoint accuracy.

Fisherman can drop an unmarked pot and with their GPS return to the same site later and relocate the pot within five feet. An experienced fisherman then needs only a rope and grapple to retrieve the pot.

Fish pots were traditionally marked by buoys which are easy to detect.

But Mr. Barnes said: "It is just a question of time before we catch them. We are in contact with other international bodies who are experiencing the same difficulties we are in Bermuda.'' The Director said his department was constantly finding and destroying pots.

"Some of them are old, but many are new''.

Mr. Barnes refused to say which fishermen were being targeted.

He said illegal potting was a serious offence "and it is not fair to other fishermen''.

Fishermen caught risk heavy fines and having their licences revoked. "They can also lose their boat and all the gear on it,'' Mr. Barnes said.

Amateurs are also at risk.

"We know that there are a few non-commercial fishermen out there doing the same thing,'' he said. "They are also at risk''.

Use of fish pots in local waters was banned in 1990 following alarm over declines in reef fish stocks. The ban by then Environment Minister the Hon.

Ann Cartwright DeCouto, heavily opposed by commercial fishermen, was upheld by a Commission of Inquiry.

Fishermen's leader Mr. Danny Farias, who defied the ban and had his pots and boat seized, has lost two court appeals in a bid to have the ban declared unconstitutional and is now hoping to take the case to the Privy Council.