Employees of the Executive Agency for Fisheries and Aquaculture (IARA) caught two poaching boats with over 500 kilograms of black mussels in the Varna area early this morning. This was announced by the Minister of Agriculture and Food Plamen Abrovski, who visited the seaside city today, BTA reports. Together with him were the regional governor of Varna Mario Smrkov, the director of IARA Hristo Panayotov, Dr. Nikolay Georgiev, head of the “Fisheries and Control“ sector – Varna.
The inspection is in the Varna Bay area and in the water area around the city, Minister Abrovski pointed out. According to him, the black mussel in the two poaching boats was removed from the territory of the two channels in the area, in which the catch of the bivalve mollusk is absolutely prohibited due to hygiene requirements.
The employees of the IARA regularly conduct such actions because tourists on our Black Sea coast should feel good and eat quality and safe Bulgarian black mussels, Abrovski pointed out. He recalled that only mollusks from the interior of the sea, where the water is clean, should reach the shops.
The minister added that during today's action, the inspectors also found several dredging facilities, which are also prohibited.
The sanctions for such violations are too small, Abrovski pointed out. According to him, the fine currently ranges from 250 leva (about 125 euros) to 2,000 euros. The minister added that work is already underway to change the legislation, which would lead to an increase in sanctions so that they also have a preventive function. The other goal is to designate zones in the water area to ensure that the aquaculture that is harvested is of the highest quality.
Regarding the results of the harvest campaign, the Minister of Agriculture commented that the harvest is very good. Due to the conflict in Ukraine and the recent bombings, the price of grain is rising, which is very good for our producers, Abrovski pointed out.