Russia’s Coast Guard service detained in the Sea of Okhotsk a Cambodian-flagged fishing vessel that carried over 21 metric tons of illegally caught live crab, a spokesman for Russia’s northeastern regional FSB service said on Monday.
The Masu Maru 5 vessel with a crew of ten Russian nationals, including the captain, and two Ukrainians ignored requests from coast guards to stop and was eventually intercepted by them, he said.
The inspection revealed a cargo of over 21 metric tons of live crab and the captain failed to provide any documents. The vessel was arrested and is convoyed to the port of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky in Russia’s Far East.
Russia banned exports of live crab in 2007, but large quantities are still smuggled out of the country, primarily to Japan and South Korea.
The Russian Coast Guard service is actively involved in fighting illegal fishing in Russia's territorial waters and frequently detains foreign-flagged poaching vessels.
