SOMOVA, Romania, June 15 (Reuters) - Romania plans to ban commercial fishing in the Danube delta to protect the natural environment in one of Europe's most biodiverse regions, Prime Minister Calin Tariceanu said on Friday.

A vast expanse of marshland on the shores of the Black Sea, dotted with tranquil lakes and reed islands, the Danube delta is home to many endangered species and a major resting stop for migratory birds. Its biodiversity is threatened by pollution, poaching and overfishing, particularly of sturgeon, due to Romania's widespread corruption which leads to abuse of fishing licences.

"We want to take radical measures. I hope next year at the latest we will ban all fishing outside of tourism and competitions," Tariceanu told a news conference in the small fishing community of Somova.

"Commercial fishing endangers the biological balance. In three to five years, the area's local fishermen will not be able to catch anything," he said.

The Danube delta is one of Romania's poorest regions, with many local communities made up of reed houses that lack basic services such as electricity and running water. Most villagers depend for their livelihoods on fishing and subsistence agriculture.

Tourism has been slow to take hold but several hotels have sprung up on lake shores and foreigners are attracted by bird-watching and fishing trips on hotel boats.

A Somova boat guide said hotels helped diminish poverty but villagers would struggle to give up fishing.

"It's true that all the fish may die in the next few years but I can't quit. You can live off tourism in the summer but then you have to fish," said Alexandru Ivanov, 44.

Romania, which joined the European Union in January, has a poor environmental record, largely due to communist-era heavy industries, weak administration and graft.

Industrial fishing in the Danube delta, Europe's largest wetlands, accounts for only 2 percent of domestic consumption.

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