Balgarianovinite.com Inspectors from the Executive Agency for Fisheries and Aquaculture (EAFA) seized two poaching boats carrying more than 500 kilogrammes of black mussels off the coast of Varna early Saturday, Agriculture and Food Minister Plamen Abrovski announced during a visit to the Black Sea city.
The Minister was accompanied by Varna Regional Governor Mario Smarkov, EAFA Executive Director Hristo Panayotov, and Nikolay Georgiev, head of the agency’s Fisheries and Control Unit in Varna.
The inspection covered Varna Bay and the surrounding coastal waters, Abrovski said. He explained that the mussels found on board the two boats had been harvested from the area’s two navigation channels, where the collection of bivalve molluscs is strictly prohibited for sanitary and public health reasons.
Abrovski said EAFA regularly conducts such enforcement operations to ensure that tourists visiting Bulgaria’s Black Sea coast can enjoy safe, high-quality Bulgarian black mussels. He stressed that only shellfish harvested from clean offshore waters should reach the market.
During the operation, inspectors also discovered several dredging devices, which are likewise prohibited, the Minister added.
Abrovski described the current penalties for such violations as insufficient. He noted that fines currently range from approximately EUR 125 to EUR 2,000. According to the Minister, amendments to the legislation are already being prepared to introduce significantly tougher penalties with a stronger deterrent effect. The proposed changes also aim to designate specific harvesting zones within Bulgaria’s maritime waters to ensure that aquaculture products placed on the market meet the highest quality standards.
Commenting on 2026’s grain harvest, Abrovski said the crop had been very good. He added that grain prices had been rising following the conflict in Ukraine and the recent bombardments, describing the trend as beneficial for Bulgarian producers. Bulgarian Fisheries Inspectors Seize Two Poaching Boats with Over 500 Kg of Black Mussels near Varna 2026 THE NEWS FROM BULGARIA – NEWS AGENCY 2009-2025 2026-07-25 12:11:19 Latest news World news Country news Most important news latest news most important latest of the day Justice Petar Nizamov Feathers Petar Nizamov- Feathers Justice bg iustitia.bg iustitia iusticia usticia investigation Burgas Bulgaria news news of the last hour news of the day news of today Bulgaria news The news from Bulgaria blitz news top news most important most commented latest news Boyko Borisov news weather coronavirus news news weather facebook youtube facebook instagram news today news of the last minutes news today today news news bg news leading news hot news bg news site for news all news news bg news of the last hour latest latest news bg news of today news today news today news of the last hour latest news today news bg news news 24 hours news vesti bg novini news world bird bg bivol bg bivol trud bg novini latest news today novinite bg news hello bulgaria political party coat of arms delyan peevski scandalous Bulgarian National Television Free Europe Television scandal exclusive live tv live right now tv tv online tv program bg live now tv news online tv online live court Burgas court Burgas district court Burgas court Burgas district court Burgas district court Burgas appellate court Burgas prosecutor Burgas prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Prosecutor General Ivan Geshev Prosecutor Geshev Tsatsarov Ministry of Internal Affairs Burgas ODMR Burgas ODPR Burgas police Burgas district police Burgas prosecutor Tsatsarov SGS cases Varna court chairman of the SGS court decisions on civil cases decisions on cases Plovdiv court decision of the court decisions cases Varna court criminal cases district district court decisions work in the court SGS chairman of the SGS judges Sofia court post judges Plovdiv court Plovdiv judges Plovdiv Supreme Court Inspectorate Supreme Court Supreme Judicial Council lawyer lawyer criminal cases lawyer civil cases lawyer marriage cases lawyer administrative criminal law criminal process civil law civil process administrative law constitutional law