Olivier Blanchet, the owner skipper of the Brittany registered Le Cobbe, was fined for scallop dredging in the Granville Bay area.

BBC: Le Cobbe

Fisheries protection officers spotted Le Cobbe at sea and found about 1, 200kg of scallops on board, but the vessel did not have a current permit.

BBC: Le Cobbe

The picture is owned by art restorer Alec Cobbe and is believed to have been painted in 1610, six years before the playwright's death at the age of 52.

BBC: Shakespeare's first theatre found

Mr Cobbe realised the significance of the painting after visiting an exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery where he saw a portrait that had until 70 years ago been accepted as a life portrait of Shakespeare.

BBC: Original Bard portrait unveiled