A fish processing company at the heart of the Black Fish scam did not use illegal profits to line directors' pockets, a court has heard.
Prosecutors claim that Shetland Catch Ltd earned made more than £6m in illegal earnings by helping fishing boats to land undeclared batches of mackerel and herring in order to avoid quota limits.
The Crown has asked the High Court in Edinburgh for a confiscation order of £6.2m from the Lerwick-based company.
The firm will also face a heavy fine, as punishment for the offence, once the amount to be confiscated has been decided.
In a final plea on Monday, defence QC David Burns asked the judge to take into account the importance of Shetland Catch to the local economy.
The plant, the biggest of its type in Scotland and one of the largest in Europe, was a major employer in Shetland and was already struggling to cope with substantial debts, the court heard.
The state has already reclaimed some of the ill-gotten gains through corporation tax, Mr Burns said.
He said: "It is not the case that the profits were being used to line the pockets of directors or shareholders."
Shetland Catch Ltd admitted helping local skippers to defy quotas between January 2002 and March 2005.
Advocate depute Barry Divers told the court forensic accountants believe more than a third of all mackerel and herring landed at the company was illegal, valued at £47.5m.
Mr Burns said the discovery of the scam meant fish quotas were drastically reduced, turning profits into losses for several years.
The judge, Lord Turnbull, has heard a week of evidence and legal argument and is expected to give his ruling on June 14.
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