Over 1 Ton of Illegally Caught Fish Seized During the Pike Fishing Ban

The intensified surveillance aimed at enforcing the pike fishing ban during the spawning season in Lake Sevan, which lasted 36 days, has concluded, according to the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources Inspection of Armenia.

From December 15 to January 20, the Ministry, in collaboration with the Police, the ‘Sevan’ National Park SNCO, and local self-governing bodies, carried out special operations in the Lake Sevan basin and surrounding areas, at outdoor trading points, on the Yerevan-Sevan highway, and at checkpoints on roads leading out of Gegharkunik Province.

During round-the-clock monitoring, a total of 3,877 pike fish (weighing 1,345.3 kg), 10 kg of fish roe were seized, and illegal fishing gear including 174 fishing nets, 95 crayfish traps, and 3 inflatable boats were confiscated. Temporary shelters along the lake's shoreline were also dismantled and removed.

Materials prepared based on several recorded incidents have been forwarded to law enforcement agencies.