Illegal Fishing: Man Inflicts Damage Exceeding 650 Thousand Hryvnias

The damages inflicted by the man are preliminarily estimated at over 650 thousand hryvnias. The offender faces up to three years of restriction of liberty.

This morning, during joint patrols near the village of Kalahliya, officers from the Odessa District Police Water Sector, along with border guards, discovered a 24-year-old resident of the Ovidiopol community illegally fishing with prohibited gear. The man did not possess any permits for fishing.

The investigative team seized from the offender as evidence a fishing suit, two gill nets totaling 200 meters, and 287 fish weighing a total of 180 kilograms, including: herring, carp, bream, crucian carp, perch, and asp. Everything seized has been transferred to a specialized storage facility.

Experts preliminarily estimate that the illegal actions of the fisherman caused damages to the state exceeding 650 thousand hryvnias.

The police have registered this case in the Unified Register of Pre-Trial Investigations under Part 1 of Article 249 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, concerning illegal fishing activities that have caused significant harm. A judicial-ecological examination has been appointed to determine the exact amount of damage incurred by the state. After conducting necessary investigative actions and obtaining the expert conclusion, the question of notifying the suspect will be addressed. He faces up to three years of restriction of liberty.

The investigation is ongoing under the procedural guidance of the Chornomorsk District Prosecutor's Office.

Police urge citizens to act responsibly, comply with current legislation, and protect nature.

We remind you that since April, the annual spring-summer spawning ban on catching aquatic biological resources has begun in the Odesa region, which will be in effect until July 31 in the Dniester estuary (the ban does not apply to specialized herring fishing).