The three Bulgarian fishing vessels that were apprehended by the Romanian Coast Guard on March 24 were not sailing in Romanian waters, the Director of the Executive Agency for Fisheries and Aquaculture Associate Professor Vanya Stamatova said for the BNR.

"We have no information that the Bulgarian seaman who were detained in Constanta (Romania) did anything illegal", Bulgaria’s Minister of Agriculture, Food and Forestry Yavor Gechev said for bTV. In his words, the Bulgarian seamen were detained in international waters in the Black Sea, not in Romanian territorial waters. According to Minister Gechev, shark fishing is allowed in Bulgaria. “Nor is there any EU ban on shark fishing”, said Yavor Gechev. “There is a partial ban imposed by Romania on the Romanian fishermen and water areas. Bulgaria will protect its interest and the interests of its citizens”, Minister Yavor Gechev went on to say. The seamen will receive legal aid in order to regain possession of their fishing vessels that were apprehended in Constanta.