A poacher using scuba gear caught 182 crayfish in the Southern Bug

At night on September 16 in the Voznesenskyi district of Mykolaiv region, inspectors discovered a man who was using an aqualung to illegally catch river crayfish in the Southern Bug. The violation was reported by the Mykolaiv Fish Protection Patrol.

The man was exposed during a river raid. Authorities seized 182 river crayfish from him, and the damage caused by the illegal catch was estimated at 606,424 hryvnias.

An administrative protocol was drawn up against the offender under Part 4 of Article 85 of the Code of Ukraine on Administrative Offenses.

The Fish Protection Patrol reminded that in Ukraine from August 10 to September 20 it is prohibited to catch river crayfish. The restriction is imposed for the duration of their second molt.

The Mykolaiv Fish Protection Patrol explained the vulnerability of crayfish during this period:

“At this time crayfish shed their old shells and are at their most vulnerable.”

Previously we wrote:

• Dove with a mask for crayfish: illegal catch in Mykolaiv region caused nearly 256,000 hryvnias in damage to the ecosystem
• Caught not fish but trouble: in the Mykolaiv region a rogue angler faced more than 700,000
• Three poachers caught on the Southern Bug: catch worth 322,000 hryvnias during the spawning ban
• Caught crayfish – residents of Mykolaiv region face massive fines or three years in prison
• Instead of fish soup – court: two men caught crayfish worth half a million hryvnias