Environmental Mines reacted to mass poaching in the National Park "Tuzlov estuaries"

The Ministry of Environmental Protection and natural resources of Ukraine has appealed to the administration of the Tuzlov estuaries national park for clarification regarding information about the facts of mass poaching in the park. This was reported by the ministry in response to a request from UNN.

Details

It should be noted that the facts of mass poaching in the park were revealed in early May of this year. The raid was conducted by a working group consisting of environmentalists, police representatives, employees of the state agency for the development of land reclamation, Fisheries and food programs in the Odessa region, employees of the State Food and Consumer Service in the Odessa region. 

As a result of the raid, illegal fishing gear with aquatic live Bioresources was seized: atherina – 16,973 pieces, flounder-Glossa – 803 pieces, shrimp – 3,052 pieces. In fact, the person who committed the offense could not be identified.   

However, in the national park itself, the facts of poaching, as well as the existence of open criminal proceedings on such crimes, are denied.

However, the photos published in the media, which indicate illegal fishing in the park, confirm.

"In particular, two photos were taken on the night of May 17, when two citizens were found carrying out illegal fishing on the shagani estuary ( within the park). On this fact, data were entered in the unified state register of legal entities No. 12024168240000039 dated 17.05.2024 under Part one of Article 249 of the Criminal Code. The amount of losses amounted to UAH 18 thousand," the Tuzlov estuaries write.

In general, the management of the National Park is not even aware of the activities of the working group , not to mention the activities of poachers on their territory. The state spends millions on the maintenance of" Guardians " of nature, but something goes wrong. Taxpayer funds simply "merge".

Earlier UNN reported that the National Park "Tuzlovsky estuaries" in the Odessa region has an annual budget of 5 565 380 Hryvnia , of which 97% is spent on the salary of 45 employees. And this is a very significant number of the national park staff during the war. However, they can not, judging by the information of law enforcement officers, restore order there. 

It is not the first time that poaching has been recorded on the territory of the National Park. But illegal fishing is not the only problem. For 10 years, the National Park "Tuzlovskie limany" in the Odessa region is managed by the same interim director, which leads to conflicts with local residents who accuse the management of illegal seizure of their land and business activities, while neglecting the maintenance and preservation of the park.

UNN wrote in detail about this in the Article "curses for local residents: why the Ministry of Ecology calls for the dismissal of the "temporary" leadership of the Tuzlov estuaries".