For a third consecutive year, Minister of Agriculture and Food Dr. Miroslav Naydenov saved Bulgaria’s 43.2 tonnes turbot catch quota.
The European Commission had insisted on a 15% reduction in the quota, or that turbot catch in the Black Sea on Bulgarian territory be abolished altogether.
In a heated debate, Naydenov persuaded his colleagues in the Council of Ministers that Bulgaria has taken the necessary measures to curb illegal fishing. ‘We are fighting illegal fishing in order to protect the turbot population and we proved to the Commission that we have implemented stringent measures,’ Naydenov said.
He added that in these challenging economic times keeping the quota intact gives a sense of security to the thousands of fishermen on the Bulgarian Black Sea and their families.