Bulgaria Doubles Fishing Fees for 2026

Recreational fishing fees in Bulgaria will rise substantially from 2026, with the annual permit increasing to 50 leva, or about 25.50 euros, instead of the current 25 leva. The change is part of a broader update to the tariff of the Executive Agency for Fisheries and Aquaculture, where all administrative charges will go up by between fifty and one hundred percent. According to the agency’s director, Dr. Nikolay Georgiev, this adjustment follows nearly two years of preparation and coordination with the Ministry of Agriculture, the Ministry of Finance and the Council of Ministers. During the public consultation stage, no objections were submitted by professional organizations, institutions or citizens.

Dr. Georgiev noted that the cost of recreational permits had remained unchanged since 2006. He stressed that these fees provide the largest portion of the agency’s own revenue. As an example, he pointed out that a kilogram of carp currently sells for around 10 leva. A single catch of a fish weighing about two and a half kilograms effectively covers the entire annual fee, meaning that anglers have been using a public resource at a very low cost.

Alongside the fee increase, the agency is receiving broader enforcement powers to oversee fishing activities and water bodies throughout the country. Inspectors are now equipped with off road vehicles, drones, body cameras and fast patrol boats, and all official vehicles have been fitted with sound and light signals. The teams can operate under a special traffic regime on national roads, use stoplights similar to those of the police and conduct checks on vehicles when there is reason to suspect illegal fishing or the transport of fish and gear. In cases involving aggression, officers may detain individuals and take them to the nearest regional police station.

Dr. Georgiev explained that the expansion of these powers required significant preparation. The fitting of equipment to the final vehicles was completed at the end of November, and all forty branded cars are now fully operational under the new rules. Inspectors who will be applying the special traffic regime underwent training at Ministry of Interior academies. In total, one hundred and fifty inspectors have been trained for the expanded responsibilities.