Drivers who purchase certain types of fish from private individuals on the roadside may face criminal liability. Sergey Radko, a lawyer for the Freedom of Choice auto movement, told socialbites.ca about this.
According to the lawyer, fish listed in the Red Book of Russia can be sold on highways. Fish species whose circulation is prohibited are listed in the list of especially valuable aquatic biological resources. In particular, the list includes various species of sturgeon (Amur, Atlantic, Persian, Russian, Sakhalin and Siberian), as well as beluga, kaluga, Sakhalin taimen, star sturgeon and spike.
“By buying this type of fish, the driver becomes a partner in illegal trade. The circulation of fish from the Red Book is prohibited, and the place where it was obtained is very important. It is necessary not only to know the list of fish species whose circulation is prohibited, but also to be able to distinguish such fish from those that are allowed, since they can be sold under the guise of sea bream.”
For the purchase of Red Book fish, liability is provided in accordance with Part 1 of Art. 258.1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (“The illegal extraction and trade of particularly valuable wild animals and aquatic biological resources belonging to species listed in the Red Book of the Russian Federation and (or) protected by international treaties of the Russian Federation”) . The maximum penalty is imprisonment for up to four years with a fine of up to 1 million rubles.
Formerly a dietitian said “Gazeta.ru”, in which half of the fish sold on the roads in Russia are infected with worms.