The Employees of the Environmental Supervision Department of the Ministry of Environment and Agriculture, in the framework of the fight against poaching, from January 1 to December 31, 2025, identified 805 cases of illegal fishing. 368 of these facts contain criminal offenses. The materials, for the purpose of further response, were sent to the relevant authorities.
The total amount of fish illegally obtained by poachers exceeded 700 kg. Poachers, in most cases, used illegal fishing tools, such as fishing nets and electric weapons.
Detection, detection, and prevention of illegal fishing is a priority for the Department of Environmental Supervision. In recent years, the process of strengthening the department has been actively going on, including purchasing modern equipment, installing electronic systems, improving the working conditions of employees, construction/rehabilitation of regional offices, and training employees to enhance their theoretical and practical knowledge.
At the same time, a lot of attention is paid to photo-video materials spread in social networks, to which there is an immediate reaction. In the fight against poaching, means such as high-speed cars, so-called gardens, boats of different types, trains, drones, photo traps, and thermal binoculars are already being successfully used.
As a result of strengthening the capacity of the department and the active implementation of modern technologies in practice, poaching and detection have been made possible 24 hours a day and in more locations.
In recent years, the increased disclosure of facts regarding illegal fishing has resulted from the possibility of increased control. In 2024, the department revealed 653 cases of illegal fishing. Among them, there are 275 facts of criminal offenses. In 2025, the department employees will find out more than 152 facts at many more locations across the country.
As these facts also contain signs of criminal offenses, materials were sent to the appropriate authorities for further response.
Crews from the Department of Environmental Protection are carrying out 24-hour non-stop patrolling across the country to prevent, detect, and respond to illegal forestry, poaching, fishing, and other environmental violations promptly. In addition, an immediate response is made to each message received on the Ministry of Environment and Agriculture’s hotline (153).
