The border guards detained the Kamkaido vessel, registered in Russia's Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, after stopping the trawler for an inspection in the Sea of Okhotsk, off the western coast of the Kamchatka Peninsula.
Inspectors found the crew had no permission to crab fish and established that a number of other fishing violations had also been breached.
The vessel has been confiscated with all equipment on board and will be escorted to Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky for further enquiries, the spokesman said.
Russia has launched a crackdown on illegal crab fishing and other seafood this year. In May 2007, Russia banned the export of live crab, but large volumes continue to be smuggled out of the country, primarily to Japan and South Korea.
