European prosecutors: Underwater searches show that EU-funded mussel farm in Bulgaria is just sand

Underwater searches, ordered by the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) in Bulgaria’s capital city Sofia, recently showed that an EU-funded mussel farm in the Black Sea may just be sand, EPPO said on October 20.

The ongoing investigation concerns a project for an innovative farm for cultivated black mussels (Mytilus galloprovincialis), funded under the Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Programme 2014–2020, and located in the Black Sea, southeast of Cape Emine in the Bourgas district.

The project for the establishment of the mussel farm was approved in July 2020 under a grant agreement with a completion deadline of September 2021.

The farm supposedly began operations in July 2021. An expert from the Institute of Oceanology in Varna was listed as the author of the technological project, but the investigation showed that the expert neither prepared nor signed it, EPPO said.

Following a request for final payment, an on-site inspection conducted in August 2021 by the State Fund Agriculture found discrepancies between the declared and actual implementation of the project.

Inspectors identified only four boundary buoys marking the site, while the underwater facilities could not be verified due to lack of equipment.

At the request of the EPPO, an inspection of the seabed – covering an area of 240 000 square metres – was carried out on October 1 2025 by investigators and divers from the Regional Directorate Border Police – Bourgas, using both underwater and aerial drones.

Three surface buoys were located at the designated coordinates, while one was missing. The buoys were not interconnected. Underwater video footage revealed no evidence of infrastructure associated with a mussel farm, such as ropes, chains, or pipes; only sand was observed on the seabed.

For the implementation of the project, the beneficiary received the amount of 280 230 euro (548 075.16 leva), of which 210 160 euro (411 038.37 leva) from the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund and the rest from the national budget.

The investigation is ongoing, with the support of the General Directorate of the National Police, EPPO said.

(Photo: EPPO)