When we published the article The Cases of Two Poachers Will Soon Be Concluded in Courton our website, a reader, an angler who was outraged that an ichthyologist had valued the carp caught by a poacher at only PLN 400, contacted us.
(Video recorded by Nuc Nuc).
(Let us recall that, because of this valuation, a prosecutor from the Bolesławiec District Prosecutor’s Office approved the police’s refusal to initiate an investigation into the theft, because under the law it constituted only a misdemeanor. If the carp had been worth at least PLN 525, it would have constituted a crime).
According to our source, these fish were worth at least PLN 2,000–3,000, if not approximately PLN 10,000. Our reader was surprised that PZW had not appealed the prosecutor’s decision or challenged this amount.
Paweł Kłobucki, spokesperson for the Jelenia Góra District of the Polish Angling Association:
The estimated value of the illegally acquired carp was determined on the basis of the current average market value, as well as guidelines and conversion coefficients provided in scientific literature (publications issued by the Inland Fisheries Institute in Olsztyn). The valuation was not prepared in an “arbitrary” manner, which would be extremely unprofessional, inconsistent with the relevant methodology, and, above all, impossible to prove in court.
Please note the discrepancy between the values given by your source: “PLN 2,000–3,000, if not approximately PLN 10,000.” I understand that, to your source, the fish were worth that much…
The spokesperson adds:
I assure you that many anglers, driven by emotion, would raise such a “valuation” to as much as several tens of thousands of złoty. What does this stem from? Well, in angling circles there are reports of carp auctions where prices as high as PLN 20,000 are reached. Such auctions deserve to be called a practice that, in the vast majority of cases, is illegal. These unusual auctions concern carp of record size, at least over 20 kg.
The larger of the carp taken by the poachers was indeed a sizeable specimen, but it was certainly not a record-sized fish with exceptional characteristics.
And he emphasizes:
In addition, please bear in mind that the starting point for determining the estimated value of the carp was merely a video posted online. In conclusion, the valuation submitted by the Jelenia Góra District of PZW was prepared reliably, in accordance with the guidelines contained in scientific literature on fisheries and ichthyology.
What do you think? We invite you to join the discussion.