Criminal Case Initiated Regarding the Sale of Sig Fish

The Armenian Prosecutor General's Office has conducted an investigation into the use of the "Sig" fish species for industrial, agricultural, and social purposes, based on reports from mass media.

Documentation on the fishing, quantities, import, export, and production of this fish species has been requested from the Ministry of Environment of Armenia, the State Revenue Committee, and the Food Safety Inspection Body. The gathered documents and necessary information were reviewed in light of the legal acts regulating the sector.

The investigation revealed that, according to the Law on Wildlife of the Republic of Armenia, the use of wildlife for agricultural, industrial, and social purposes (including amateur fishing) is subject to payment, and the procedures for concluding usage contracts are established by the government of Armenia.

Decisions No. 1380-N dated August 22, 2002, and No. 884-N dated July 10, 2003, set the procedures for concluding contracts for the use of wildlife objects for agricultural, industrial, and social purposes. According to information received from the Ministry of Environment, the orders issued during 2014-2019 regarding the regulation of industrial fishing in Armenian water bodies did not establish quotas for the industrial catch of the sig fish species, and no contracts were signed for amateur fishing and catching this species, indicating that fishing for this species has been prohibited in Armenia.

Furthermore, there is no information available from the Ministry of Environment regarding the presence of sig fish in areas outside Lake Sevan, nor on its industrial or artificial production. The investigation also established that no sig fish were imported into the Republic between 2013 and 2019. This contrasts with the findings of the Food Safety Inspection Body, which, in a January 2019 inspection of a company in Gegharkunik Province, found approximately 6,000 kg of canned "Sevan sig" fish produced in March 2018 in the company's warehouse.

According to 20 purchase invoices issued by this company, between October and December 2017, around 11,550 kg of sig fish, worth a total of approximately 5.6 million drams, was purchased from the fish market in Dzovaghu, stored in refrigerators, and canned during January-February 2018.

Another company operating in Ararat Province reported that, according to the documents they provided, they purchased 10,000 kg of sig fish from a public organization registered in Nagorno-Karabakh for 4.8 million drams on December 6, 2017.

It has also been revealed that another company exported approximately 14,876 kg of smoked sig fish to the Russian Federation between March and August 2018. According to tax invoices issued by this company, they acquired 7,700 kg of live sig fish from another company, specifying the delivery location as the "Her-Her" reservoir in Vayots Dzor.

The Law on Compensation for Environmental Violations establishes that in the event of illegal fishing or destruction of the sig fish species, the minimum compensation for the damage caused is set at 1,000 drams per kilogram.

Thus, in the absence of established quotas for both industrial and amateur fishing of sig fish by the authorized state body, as well as the lack of contracts for extraction and amateur fishing, illegal extraction of sig fish occurred in the Republic in 2017-2018. This was done by a group of individuals in premeditated agreement, resulting in significant damage exceeding 200 times the minimum wage. The sig fish unlawfully obtained has been sold to other individuals in particularly large quantities.

Based on the results of the investigation, a criminal case has been initiated by the Department for Protection of State Interests in the Prosecutor General's Office under the provisions of Article 216, Part 3, Subparagraph 1, regarding obtaining or selling property through particularly large-scale apparent criminal activity; and Article 292, Part 2, Subparagraph 2, regarding the illegal extraction of fish or other aquatic animals by a group of individuals in premeditated agreement causing significant damage. The investigation has been assigned to the Investigative Committee of Armenia.