The Appellate Court in the Romanian city Constanta will next week hear the case against five Bulgarian skippers accused of poaching.

The four Kavarna-based fishing boats were apprehended by the Romanian coast guard at the beginning of May and the skippers were charged with conducting business in Romania's exclusive economic zone and with poaching, including fishing for shark which was banned at the time.

The crews of the boats were released in May and returned to Bulgaria while the skippers remained under arrest in Constanta. Three of them were released on bail in mid-June and returned to their boats in the port of Constanta. The other two skippers remain in custody because they could not afford to pay the bail.