The recently installed cameras recorded several people loading the means for illegal fishing into the tanks - probes, converters, batteries and gas bottles, the National Parks of Montenegro announced. (NPCG).
As they state, the cameras installed in order to control the terrain in Skadar Lake National Park have once again shown that the fishing ban does not apply to everyone, and that poachers do not stand still.
"The cooperation of competent state authorities, associations and citizens is a basic prerequisite for an effective fight against poaching in Skadar Lake NP, and the fact that the results of such work are immediately visible is best demonstrated by the activities on the ground," said the NPCG.
According to them, the results arrived already in the first days of using the technology, which the Environmental Protection Agency and volunteers provided for use.
"We are aware that the cooperation of all institutions is very important in order to eradicate this negative phenomenon in NP Skadarsko jezero. Catching fish during the prohibitions is a criminal offense and we hope that the punishments will be more rigorous for all perpetrators", said the director of JPNPCG Vladimir Martinović.
The Environmental Protection Agency said that they would rather see recorded otters, pelicans or maybe jackals, but that already on the second day after the cameras were installed, they recorded poachers with, as they claim, vehicles full of illegal fishing gear - probes, converters, batteries.
"Lake Skadar is equipped with several dozens of cameras that send information in real time about the state of the park's biodiversity, and in the event that they record illegal activities, each will be processed through the Skadar Lake Protection Service. The cameras are also adapted for night recording, so we have the possibility of viewing 24 hours a day." the Agency announced.
The NPCG states that in cooperation with the Fisheries Directorate of the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management and the Border - Navigational Unit of the Police Administration, 55 kilograms of fish were seized this weekend, and an application for off-market sales was filed against a person found near the green Mall of Montenegro (Gintas).
They also add that within the framework of the "Stop poaching" campaign, control was carried out in the previous days, not only in Skadar lake NP, but also off-market sales of fish caught in this protected area during the fishing ban.
"Locations that are recognized as places where fish are marketed are controlled," NPCG explained.
They reminded that there is a fishing ban on all types of fish and aquatic organisms except eel, which started on March 15 and lasts until May 15.
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