According to the report the Russian Coast Guard had detained two Cambodian-flagged fishing vessels near the island of Sakhalin in Russia’s Far East on suspicion of poaching fish and crab. The report also states that the first vessel, the Jae Su, was spotted by a patrol boat in the Russian exclusive economic zone off the southern coast of the island on Wednesday night.
The Russian Coast Guard informed that the ship attempted to escape and stopped the engines only after warning shots had been fired. Irina Shebeko, a spokeswoman for the regional Coast Guard, said that the search of the vessel revealed about a metric ton of live crab, four tons of frozen pollack and a ton of frozen herring on board. She also told that the crew failed to provide documents verifying the legality of the catch.
The information also revealed that the second vessel, the Mariner, was detained by the same patrol boat three hours later. The ship also attempted to flee but surrendered after a short chase without warning shots. The crewmembers of both trawlers are mainly Russians. Shebeko said that the ships have been taken to a nearby port of Korsakov for further investigation. Russia banned exports of live crab in 2007, but large quantities are still smuggled out of the country, primarily to Japan and South Korea.
