Ban on fishing of sterlet in Serbia in effect from January 1, 2019

The Ministry of Environmental Protection of the Republic of Serbia has adopted the permanent fishing ban on sterlet, which will significantly contribute to the restoration of populations of this endangered fish species.

WWF Adria had conducted a study in June, showing that in Serbia, sterlet is intensively fished during the seasonal spawning ban, under the legally allowed size of 40 cm, whilst being sold illegally in restaurants and markets across Serbia. WWF expects this to be stopped thanks to the newest change in regulations, the World Wide Fund for Nature writes.

– The introduction of the ban is a result of the joint work of the Ministry of Environmental Protection and WWF Adria, which shows the importance of cooperation between state institutions and civil society organizations. According to the "Environmental Report in the Republic of Serbia", in 2017, the catch of sterlet increased by about 44%. We believe that the ban on fishing will enable the restoration of population of this species, which is very vulnerable worldwide. This is a great success for the conservation of nature in Serbia – said Duška Dimović from WWF Adria.

According to the IUCN’s Red list, sterlet is marked as an endangered species due to overfishing, destruction of natural habitats and pollution. The initiative of WWF was supported by United Anglers of Serbia and Association of Commercial Fishermen.

– We want to commend a successful example of cooperation between the expert public, civil society organizations and the relevant ministry on the protection and conservation of biodiversity and the fish fund. At the same time, we invite all competent institutions to make additional efforts in order to bring this permanent ban, but also all other obligations in the protection of the fish fund, into operation. We hope that this will not be one of the situations when law-regulated rules remain just on paper – said Executive Director of United Fishermen of Serbia, Ljubomir Pejčić.

Ministarstvo zaštite životne sredine Republike Srbije

WWF International

Ujedinjeni ribolovci Srbije

Asocijacija alasa Srbije

Ministry of Environmental Protection of the Republic of Serbia

World Wide Fund For Nature

WWWW Serbia

WWF Adria

IUCN red list

IUCN

United Anglers of Serbia

Association of Commercial Fishermen

sterlet

fishing of sterlet

Ljubomir Pejčić

sterlet endangered

overfishing of sterlet

ban on fishing of sterlet in Serbia