The Minister of Environment and Water Asen Lichev approved four fishing permits for fish and other aquatic organisms for scientific research purposes, which have been issued by the Ministry of Agriculture and Food to four researchers from the Institute of Biodiversity and Ecosystem Research at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences.

They are needed to study the biology of fish reproduction, breeding migrations in rivers, fertility and are for specific research projects.

The catch agreed by the MOEW for research purposes under Art. 40, para. 2 of the Fishing and Aquatic Cultures Act concerns only the species included in Annex № 4 to the Biodiversity Act as follows:

1. Alosa pontica
2. Alosa caspia nordmani
3. Alosa caspia bulgarica
4. Aspius aspius
5. Barbus meridionalis petenyi
6. Barbus tauricus (Barbus plebejus tauricus)
7. Barberry cyclolepis (Barbus cyclolepis tauricus)
8. Gymnocephalus schraetser
9. Zingel zingel

For each of the listed species, up to 10 specimens per species per permit can be fished. Fishing is not allowed on the territory of national parks, reserves, and maintained reserves in the meaning under the Protected Areas Act.

For the nine species described above, no additional regimes of protection and regulated use are provided under the Biodiversity Act.