Catfish ban was lifted

The parliament adopted amendments and additions to the package of legislations – "On payments for environmental pollution and the use of natural resources" and "On fishing and conservation of aquatic biological resources" In the second final reading. The amendments provide for the resumption of the catch of common catfish during daylight hours. Catfish fishing had been completely banned for fishermen for the last 15 years.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Natural Resources came up with the initiative to resume catching catfish for amateur fishermen. The relevant department considers that catching catfish for three months (from July to the end of September) on weekends will not adversely affect the commercial fish quantity in the Dniester.

The law defines the places where an amateur fisherman on a hook (there should be no more than five on all the gear) can legally catch catfish. This is a section of the Dniester from the bridge of the Poltava-Chisinau highway downstream, and Turunchuk. The permanent fishing ban areas remain the same.

Another requirement, spelled out in the new version of the law, concerns the size of the fish caught. Specialists of the Ministry of Agriculture consider that the fish should be at least 70 cm in length. If the catfish is smaller, it will be returned to the river.

Amateur fishermen will need to obtain a permit to catch catfish. It is designed for the whole season (this year it is 27 days off), one-time permits are not provided. The cost of such a permit is 1620 rubles. All money received for permits will be transferred to the Ecological Fund. They will be directed to the conservation, restoration and rational use of aquatic biological resources, including for carrying out works on stocking with fish and biological amelioration of fishery reservoirs of the republic.