Russian Border Guard Says Detained Ukrainian Ship Over Poaching Off Crimea's Western Coast

SIMFEROPOL (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 22nd April, 2021) Russian border guards have detained a Ukrainian fishing vessel off the western coast of Crimea for illegal fishing in Russia's exclusive economic zone, the Border Service of Russia's Federal Security Service in Crimea said on Thursday.

The ship, registered in the Ochakiv port, was detained overnight into Tuesday by a border patrol ship four dozen miles northwest of the peninsula's westernmost Cape Priboyny.

"During monitoring activities, Russian border guards identified two crew members, citizens of Ukraine.

Several dozens of flounder-kalkan and stingray ... were found on board the vessel. The vessel was escorted to the settlement of Chernomorskoye for preparing administrative procedure materials and their submission to a court," the border service said.

A Crimean court found the vessel's captain guilty of violating the rules for the extraction of aquatic biological resources and fined him 257,000 rubles ($3,354), the border service added.