The general spring fishing ban began on Friday in Romania's natural habitats, with the fishing closure next imposed in border waters - the Danube River section shared with Bulgaria and the waters that define the border with Ukraine, the Musura Gulf included - as of April 24, according to the Prohibition Order issued by the Ministries of Environment and of Agriculture, respectively.

The ban ends on June 8.

"Some claim that this order will affect tourism in the Danube Delta, due to the catch and release provisions for catfish, carp, pike and zander. Sport fishermen have a special respect for the living resource and go on this type of fishing anyway, without the need for a regulation, so that this type of tourists will not be affected," president of the Danube Delta Tourist Destination Management Association (AMDTDD) Catalin Tibuleac told AGERPRES.

"The act affects those who camp on the banks of the Danube, in areas that are not intended for tourism, those who don't spend money at their stay location and who would often leave with bags of salted and dried fish," Tibuleac added.

He also criticized the fact that the provision that prohibits sport fishermen from keeping their catches of fish from these four species was not put up for public debate and argued that the prohibition order will affect Delta tourism to just a little extent.

The general fishing ban is based on the species, but also on the breeding season and aims to protect the fish stocks.

The fishing ban for zander and European perch started in March, and for mackerel the closure sets in successively on the various Danube sectors, starting this week. AGERPRES (RO - author: Luisiana Bigea, editor: Irina Poenaru; EN - author: Simona Klodnischi, editor: Simona Iacob)