Mykola Tomenko: Import of Poaching Tools shall finally be banned before the Start of Spring Spawning Season
Today, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine adopted the bill on amendments to the Law of Ukraine "On Fauna" (re strengthening of poaching prevention) (Reg. No6458-1). It was a repeated first reading of the bill registered by the People´s Deputies M.Tomenko, A.Semynoha, V.Danylenko and O.Horoshkevych 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 supplements the Law "On Fauna", prohibiting 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. The bill fights illegal hunting, and impedes organization of hunting with the use of prohibited tools.
As one of the authors of the bill, M. Tomenko believes that topicality of the bill is caused by the threatening rates of poaching in 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. Mykola Tomenko is convinced that development of poaching in Ukraine is supported by the mass sale of the national and foreign fishing gears - anesthetic agents, barbed, leaden and trap-like tools of catching, electric fishing systems, and electric fishing rods. Thus, the bottoms of water bodies accumulate kilometers of disposed synthetic fishing nets which are slowly decomposing and still catching the fish. "Import of poaching tools in Ukraine, such as synthetic fishing nets, electric fishing-rods and traps, is equally harmful", the authors of the bill states. Its topicality is explained by the necessity of imposing a legislative ban on manufacture, sale and use of poaching tools, as well as import of traps, synthetic fishing nets and electric fishing-rods for the purpose of poaching.
M. Tomenko declared his intention to draft the bill together with the subject Committee of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine between the first and the second readings. He recommends fixing several principles of the bill.
The Deputy Chairman also deems necessary to adopt the bill in entirety as soon as possible.
On Thursday, M. Tomenko took part in the opening of the exhibition of poaching tools organized in the Parliament by the non-governmental organization "Community of Fishermen of Ukraine" and "Kyiv Environmental-Cultural Club" dedicated to the parliamentary scrutiny of the respective bill.