Fishermen from the port of "Quarantine" in Varna will not stop their activities and plan to go out to sea to catch fish on October 7. The decision comes after the incident on October 6, in which two commercial ships were hit by drones in the Bulgarian exclusive economic zone in the Black Sea.
At the moment, the Maritime Administration - Varna has not issued a ban on fishing or on fishing vessels going out to sea. This leaves fishermen in the area free to continue working, even though one of the hit ships has sunk and the other has caught fire.
“It's getting dangerous and you don't know where you're going to get hit“, Ivan Hubenov told BNR. The fishermen fear that if the situation worsens, a ban on going out to sea could be introduced.
“We are worried if a ban is imposed, because now is the fishing season“, says Ivan Ivanov. For the fishermen, limiting their activities would have a direct effect on their income, precisely at a time when they expect more active fishing.
Concerns about marine pollution
In addition to their safety, the fishermen are also worried about a possible spill of hazardous substances. There is currently no official information about what cargo the sunken ship was carrying, which is increasing concerns in the area.
„The most worrying thing is that there is no oil spill, that there are no chemicals in the ship, so as not to pollute the Black Sea coast, because then it will not be possible to catch fish“, explains Julian Nedev.The fishermen will continue to monitor the development of the situation and the instructions of the competent institutions. So far, no restriction has been announced that would stop fishing from the “Quarantine“.
Sources: novini.bg, bnrnews.bg