Samegrelo, Georgia: The Employees of the Environmental Supervision Department of the Ministry of Environment Protection and Agriculture revealed 2 facts about illegal fishing.
This was done in the framework of the fight against poaching. One hundred forty of them contain criminal offenses. The materials were sent to the relevant authorities for further response.
Poachers often used illegal fishing tools such as fishing nets, electric shock devices, fishing nets, and others. In total, the amount of illegally obtained fish exceeded 51 kgs.
In the city of Poti, near the river Kaparchina, the employees of the Poti City Administration revealed the fact of illegal fishing. After investigating, the employees of the Ministry found that Citizens, using a motor boat made of iron construction, were fishing illegally by fishing electric weapons.
It should also be noted that this illegal fishing was the result of a joint event. In Tsalenjikhi municipality, a citizen was doing illegal fishing on the river Chanitskali by fishing electric weapons. The offender had illegally obtained up to 1 kilogram of fish of Kashapi type.
The Environmental Supervision Department conducts regular inspections and patrols to prevent and combat illegal fishing activities in the freshwater and marine areas of the country. Since both facts contain signs of a criminal offense, the materials were sent to the relevant agencies for further response.
It is to be added that the Department of Environmental Supervision crews carry out continuous 24-hour patrolling throughout the country to prevent and detect illegal forestry, poaching, fishing, and other environmental violations promptly. In addition, immediate response is given to each message received on the hotline (153) of the Ministry of Environment Protection and Agriculture.
Illegal fishing is a serious problem that threatens the biodiversity and sustainability of the aquatic resources in Georgia. The department urges citizens of the country to take into account that fishing is prohibited with means such as electrodes, electric shock devices, self-made electronic tools, firearms, netting, etc.
