Besides the National Park (NP) Skadar Lake has a small number of workers in the Protection Service, I also notice that some of them are in connection with poachers, but this is very difficult to prove, Marina Jočić, president of the JP Board of Directors, said in "Colors of the Morning" on TV Vijesti National parks of Montenegro.
"There are several groups that deal with poaching, which are at the level of the mafia. When I say at the level of the mafia, I mean the connection and organization with some state bodies and the huge walk they make that is measured in euros and something that cannot be measured in euros, and it is the destruction of the ecosystem on Lake Skadar," Jočić said.
At the end of last week, she called on the competent authorities to start fulfilling their legally established obligations and finally do something to preserve Skadar Lake.
"Only in some way did the police respond to us, and it had an immediate effect. Already on the first weekend, we managed to confiscate several vessels, batteries, converters and other means of killing fish and other living things. However, the prosecution released those people and did not criminal prosecution, they received misdemeanor charges and the tool for killing living things was returned to the lake. Which means that at every step the prosecution shows its inefficiency," Jočić pointed out and added that what is happening at the lake is a practice that has been going on for decades and that because of this, many who would report poaching are intimidated.
"I think they have reason to be afraid. We have a video where the poachers repeat the gun knowing that the camera is recording them, that way they sent them a threatening message. It happened that our supervisors were attacked, that they were threatened with being fried with a probe. They people ready for anything," said Jočić.
Bonus video: