Signing a declaration against illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing has put an end to the high-level Black Sea Fisheries and Aquaculture Conference held in Sofia. The forum was attended by Commissioner in charge of Environment, Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, Karmenu Vella, as well as by Secretary General of the Permanent International Secretariat (PERMIS) of the Organization of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation Michael B. Christides; Minister of Agriculture, Food and Forestry, Rumen Porozhanov, and ministers from the countries of the Black Sea region. Two of the six Black Sea countries - Russia and Ukraine, have not signed the document. Over 62,000 people in the region depend on fishing and processing. According to Commissioner Vella, four out of five fish in the Black sea are caught illegally.