Mykola Tomenko: Strengthening of Administrative and Criminal Responsibility for the Use of Prohibited Fishing Tools facilitated Poaching Counteraction
Today, Mykola Tomenko, Deputy Chairman of The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, jointly with Andrii Nelipa and Denys Soboliev, members of the Ukrainian Fishing Public Association, held a briefing at the Parliament on the occasion of the opening of a summer season of amateur fishing.
Mykola Tomenko reminded that the amendments to the Ukrainian legislation strengthening criminal responsibility for illegal fishing or hunting had come into force on 16 February 2010. "Despite the fact that The Verkhovna Rada adopted several laws against poaching, this terrible phenomenon remain a mass, well-equipped activity", the Deputy Chairman stated. He believes that a rapid growth of poaching poses a threat to the environmental security of Ukraine. "In the result of mass poaching, population of many game animals has lately shortened by 30-70%. Fishing poachers annually trap 197 thousand tons of fish in fresh water, the Black and the Azov Seas, which equals its commercial catch", he stated.
M.Tomenko believes that rapid growth of poaching is facilitated by mass sale of domestically produced and imported poaching tools, such as electric fishing-rods, self-activating traps, traps, synthetic fishing nets. He stressed that 100 thousand poaching tools are annually confiscated in Ukraine, while up to 10 million prohibited fishing tools are still kept by the poachers. Moreover, these tools are cheap, and usually are thrown away after a one-time use. Thus, the bottoms of water bodies accumulate kilometres of disposed synthetic fishing nets which are slowly decomposing and still catching the fish.
M.Tomenko announced that he and People´s Deputies A.Semynoha, V.Danylenko and O.Horoshkevych had registered the bill "On Amendments to the Law of Ukraine "On Fauna" (re enhancement of poaching prevention) (Reg. No. 6458-1) at request of several environmental organizations and by the results of the round table discussion "Enhancement and Implementation of Ukrainian Legislation on Prevention of Gross Violations of Fishing Rules." The bill prohibits manufacture, sale and use of poisonous and anaesthetic agents, barbed, leadening and trap-like tools of catching, electric fishing systems (electric fishing rod), explosives, bird lime and synthetic nets. The bill also prohibits import of widely-spread poaching tools: synthetic fishing nets, electric fishing-rods and traps.