The State Fisheries Agency (Derzhrybahentstvo) has published a draft order from the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine titled “On the Approval of the Commercial Fishing Regime in the Black Sea Basin for 2025.”
While approving the fishing regime is a standard annual procedure in Ukraine, we were surprised to discover that the draft order removes a clause that has prohibited commercial fishing in a special zone in the northern part of the Tylihul Estuary for over a decade. This ban has been in effect since 2009.
This means that a section of the estuary that has served as a fish stock restoration zone for more than 15 years has been removed from the list of areas where commercial fishing is prohibited. For 2025, it is now planned for intensive use, along with the rest of the estuary.
It is important to note that the Tylihul Estuary is part of Ukraine’s Protected Areas Fund, specifically the “Tylihulskyi” Regional Landscape Parks in the Odesa and Mykolaiv regions, which are managed by special administrations. Under Ukrainian law, this fund is protected as a national asset, with a special regime for its conservation, restoration, and use. Ukraine considers this fund to be an integral part of the global system of protected natural territories.
We have already sent appeals to the State Fisheries Agency, the Ministry of Agrarian Policy, and the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources, proposing that the fishing ban in the northern part of the Tylihul Estuary be reinstated.
