Ukrainian captain could get 5 years in prison for poaching and killing 46 dolphins
The environmental damage caused to the Black Sea by fishermen of the Ukrainian fishing vessel YaMK-0041, detained in early May off the Crimean Cape Tarkhankut, was estimated at more than 440 thousand rubles (just over 185 thousand hryvnia), a PolitNavigator correspondent reports.
This was reported by the press service of the FSB border department.
The captain of a Ukrainian ship detained in Crimea could face 5 years in prison for poaching.
After the fishermen were detained, border guards removed more than nine kilometers of fixed nets from the water, from which they managed to rescue and release into the sea 161 flounder, three dogfish and four grass crabs.
A pre-investigation investigation established that the production of rare fish was carried out during the spawning period, when the production of flounder, like other types of fish, is strictly prohibited throughout the continental shelf.
During the investigation, it was established that in the exclusive economic zone of Ukraine, the YaMK-0041 team installed about 20 more kilometers of nets. “One can only guess what the scale of the damage caused to the marine fauna is, and how many individuals of aquatic biological resources, including specially protected and Red Book ones, died from illegal mining tools,” noted the FSB border department.
A criminal case has been opened against the captain of the vessel, citizen of Ukraine Viktor Novitsky, under Part 3 of Article 256 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation “on the fact of illegal extraction of marine biological resources in the exclusive economic zone of the Russian Federation,” Rossiyskaya Gazeta reports. A preventive measure in the form of detention was chosen for him. For such a crime, the law provides for up to five years in prison.
Let us remind you that the vessel “YaMK-0041” was detained by Crimean border guards in the area of Cape Tarkhankut in the west of the peninsula. There were five Ukrainian citizens on board. Previously, in particular in 2011, this vessel was twice detained by inspectors of the State Fisheries Agency of Ukraine for poaching - illegal fishing of sturgeon.
A Ukrainian captain could face 5 years in prison for poaching and killing 46 dolphins.