VLADIVOSTOK, August 28 (RIA Novosti) - Some 8,000 live crabs, confiscated by Russian coast guards earlier in the week, have been released into the Sea of Japan, a spokeswoman for the local Coast Guard Service said on Friday.
Natalya Rondaleva said that on August 24 coast guards detained the Cambodia-flagged Trojana fishing vessel with 12.5 metric tons of live crab on board, worth some 5.5 million rubles ($174,000).
"The captain failed to provide documents verifying the legality of the catch. The Trojana was escorted by coast guards to the port of Nakhodka on Thursday," she said.
Russia banned exports of live crab in May 2007, but large volumes are still smuggled out of the country, primarily to Japan and South Korea.
