Fishery inspectors and environmental patrol groups detained a poacher engaged in illegal fishing on the western coast of the Kamchatka Peninsula. The incident occurred on the Yakutova tributary of the Bolshaya River in the Ust-Bolsheretsk district, where the individual was operating a rubber boat equipped with illegal fishing nets.
The suspect illegally harvested 27 salmon and extracted 15 kilograms of red caviar. Environmental damage from this poaching incident is preliminarily estimated at 500,000 rubles. Authorities confiscated the rubber boat, fishing nets, and the entire illegal catch of fish and roe. The case materials have been transferred to the local police to initiate a criminal investigation into the environmental violation.
Financial penalties for illegal fishing in the Kamchatka region are calculated per fish regardless of size or weight – a strict measure designed to protect marine resources. Fines are set at 11,575 rubles for sockeye salmon, 10,635 rubles for chinook and coho, 2,009 rubles for chum, 961 rubles for pink salmon, and 925 rubles for char. Furthermore, the ecological damage compensation rate for extracted red caviar is established at 27,455 rubles per kilogram.