In Sirdarya, illegal fishing caused 350 million soums in environmental damage

In Sirdarya, two individuals caused 350 million soums worth of damage to wildlife after illegally catching 37 fish. This was reported by the Ministry of Ecology, Environmental Protection, and Climate Change.

According to the report, the ministry, in cooperation with the State Environmental Control Inspectorate, the Sirdarya Water Basin Control Department, the regional police, and the National Guard Directorate, conducted a joint inspection.

During the raid in the “Bahmal” neighborhood of Gulistan district, citizens A.T. and M.D. were caught illegally fishing in the “Shurazak” canal using an electric fishing device. They had caught a total of 37 fish, including 20 silver carps, 3 bleaks, and 14 snakeheads, and were attempting to remove them from the water in a rubber boat when they were stopped.

An official report was drawn up, and the illegally caught fish along with the equipment — one electric fishing device, one rubber boat, one battery, one pair of oars, one holder, and one night light — were temporarily confiscated pending legal assessment.

As a result of the incident, several laws were violated, including Articles 3 and 27 of the Law “On Hunting and Hunting Management,” Articles 34 and 35 of the Law “On the Protection and Use of Wildlife,” and Article 49 of the Law “On Environmental Protection.” The total damage to wildlife was estimated at 865 times the base calculation amount, or 352.67 million soums.

The collected materials have been submitted to the Sirdarya Regional Prosecutor’s Office for legal evaluation and further action.

Earlier, it was reported that in Samarkand, illegal hunting of pheasants caused environmental damage amounting to 288.5 million soums.