The Cherkasy District Court has ruled to recover 49,470 hryvnias from a local resident for damage caused to aquatic life resources. The offender was previously found guilty of illegal fishing on the Dnieper River, where he caught 30 bream with a prohibited net. The court sided with the state and the community, noting that environmental damage must be compensated in full.
According to the materials of criminal proceedings No. 707/2015/25, the man was in the Dnieper River area near the village of Khudyaki and without permission lowered a prohibited mesh net about 70 meters long with a mesh size of 70×70 mm into the water.
Such fishing gear is expressly prohibited by the Rules of Amateur and Sport Fishing. As a result of the illegal use of the net, the violator caught 30 bream.
The Institute of Fisheries of the National Academy of Agrarian Sciences, in a letter dated May 26, 2025, estimated the damage caused to aquatic biological resources at 49,470 hryvnias.
During the consideration of the criminal case, no civil lawsuit was filed, and the violator himself did not voluntarily compensate for the damages.
In separate civil proceedings, the Cherkasy District Court concluded that the man was obliged to compensate for the full amount of damage caused to the environment.
The court referred to the provisions of Part 4 of Article 68 of the Law "On Environmental Protection" and Article 1166 of the Civil Code of Ukraine, which provide for the unconditional obligation of violators to compensate for the damage caused.
The court's decision creates another precedent that confirms: liability for illegal fishing and the use of prohibited fishing gear is inevitable, and damage caused to the environment must be compensated in full.
