Illegal Russian Crab - World Wildlife Fundassets.worldwildlife.org/publications/733/files/original/...ness and viability of the legal crab industry. Illegal Russian crab is an important

Illegal Russian Crab An Investigation of Trade Flow

© Bjorn Solberg Guliksen / WWF-Canon

Contents Executive Summary .............................................1

Overview ...............................................................2

Russia’s Crab Trade and IUU Prevention Efforts .............................. 10

Partner Country Trade Information and IUU Bilateral Initiatives............................. 14

Trade Complexity .............................................. 20

Estimation of Crab IUU ..................................... 22

Conservation Impacts of Crab Overexploitation ...................................... 26

Recommendations ............................................ 28

References ......................................................... 31

Appendix: Harmonized System (HS) Commodity Codes for Crab ............................. 35

Photo courtesy of Josh Thomas

Square crab pots are typically used in Alaska and occassionally in Russia to harvest king and snow crab.

ILLEGAL RUSSIAN CRAB: AN INVESTIGATION OF TRADE FLOW 1

• OfficialcustomsdatafromSouthKorea,Japan,ChinaandtheUnitedStatesindicatethatin2013,thesefourcountries(whichaccountfornearlyallofRussia’sofficialcrabexports)imported1.69timesasmuchliveandfrozencrabfromRussiaasofficialRussianharvestlevels.Overthepastdecade,thelevelofoverharvestduetoillegalcrabharvestingwastwotofourtimesthelegallimit,causinggraveconcernaboutthesustainabilityofseveralRussianFarEastcrabspecies.

• Foreign-flaggedvesselsharvestcrabillegallyinRussianwaters,andsomeRussian-flaggedves-selseitheroverharvestorharvestcrabillegally.Misdeclaringproductquantities,off-loadingunde-claredproductontoatransportvesselatsea,ordeliveringundeclaredcrab(ordeclaredusingfakedocumentation)directlytoaforeignportareknowntechniquestolaundercrab.ForeignportsreceivingRussiancrabaretypicallyinJapanandSouthKoreaandarealsolikelytobeintermediarystop-offsorfinaldestinationsforillegalRussiancrab.

• WWFexaminedtheAutomaticIdentificationSystem(AIS)signalsfor32vesselsbelievedtohavedeliveredcrabtoHokkaido,Japaninearly2012.Twoforeign-flaggedvesselsshowedapat-ternthatindicatedharvestinginRussianwatersandthreeforeign-flaggedvesselsapproachedtheRussia-Japanmaritimeborder,whichcouldindi-catetransshipment.FiveRussian-flaggedvesselsshowedapatternofpossibleharvestinginRussian

watersandmotoringdirectlytoportsinJapanwithoutstoppinginaRussianportfirsttoregisterthecatch,thereforepotentiallyviolatingRussianlaw(ifcraborotherseafoodfromRussianwaterswasoff-loadedinJapan).

• Severalspeciesofcrabarecommerciallyimport-anttobothAlaskaandRussiancrabfisheries,butthehighestvalueisgarneredbyredkingcrab(Paralithodescamtschaticus).Kingcrabiscon-sumedinlargequantitiesintheUnitedStateswiththesourceofthiscrabgenerallysplitbetweendomesticharvestsfromAlaskaandimportsfromRussia.Onaverageoverthelasttenyears,three-quartersofthekingcrabconsumedintheU.S.marketisfromRussia.With21%oftotalU.S.crabimportscomingfromRussiain2012,theUnitedStatesislikelyimportingcrabthatwashar-vestedillegally.

• ThecurrentU.S.systemforseafoodimportsisnotabletodetectorblockeveryshipmentofillegallyharvestedcrab.Currently,seafood-trackingsystemsthatverifylegalityarenotincommonpractice.

• Inrecentyears,Russiahasworkedtoshrinktheille-galcrabproblembydevelopingbilateralagreementswithJapanandSouthKorea,developinganationalplanofactiontoaddressillegalfisheries,andcontinuedenforcementat-sea.Yettheproblemismultilateralanditdemandsamultilateralsolution.

Executive SummaryWorldWildlifeFundinvestigatedthetradeflowofillegalandlegalcrabharvestedfromRussianwatersthroughoutthePacificRimtobetterunderstandthelikelihoodofU.S.importationofillegallyharvestedRussiancrab,aswellasconservationconcernsassociatedwithoverharvestofcrabfromRussianwaters. Thisreportfoundthefollowing:

ILLEGAL RUSSIAN CRAB: AN INVESTIGATION OF TRADE FLOW2

Encompassingoveramillionsquaremiles,theBeringSeaisoneoftheworld’smostproductivemarineecoregions,sustainingmorethan500speciesoffish,birdsandmammals,hundredsofhumancommunities.TheBeringSeasupplieshalftheannualseafoodcatchfortheU.S.,andtheBeringSeaandSeaofOkhotsksupplymorethanhalfofRussia’sannualseafoodcatch.WorldWildlifeFund(WWF)identifiedtheBeringSea,inaGlobal200conserva-tionassessment,as“oneofthemostoutstandingyetendangeredmarineenvironments,whoseprotectionisessentialforthepreservationoftheworld’sbiodiversity”(OlsonandDinerstein2002).Similarly,theSeaofOkhotskisahighlyproductivemarineecosystemsupportinganarrayofmarinespecies,humanusesandlarge-scalefisheriesremovals.Thecold,upwelledwatersintheSeaofOkhotsksupportmassivepollock,salmonandcrabfisheries,whichserveasaneconomicengineintheRussianFarEast.

Thishighproductivity,combinedwiththeshearremotenessandvastnessofthewesternBeringSeaandSeaofOkhotsk,hasexposedthisareatoillegalharvestingactivitiesthatarebothlucrativeanddifficulttoprevent.Inresponsetoincreasingconcernabouttheimpactofillegalfisheriesinthesegloballysignificantmarineareas,in2014WWFexpertsinvestigatedthetradeflowoflegalandillegalcrabharvestedinRussianwatersusingprimarysourcessuchasRussiancrabstockassessments,publicallyaccessibletradeandcustomsdata,interviewswithexpertsandmediasourcestoobtainauniquepictureoftheflowsoflegalandillegalcrabproducts.Amongotherdiscov-eries,WWFfoundthatmostRussiancrabgoestoJapanforconsumption.RussiancrabheadedtotheU.S.stopsfirstinanAsianport,andChinadoesnotappeartoplayamajorroleincrabtradeflows.

Basedonextensiveanalysesofthesedata,WWFconcludesthatillegalcrabharvestinRussiaexceededthelegallimitbetween1.7and4timesoverthepastdecade.OfficialcustomsdataindicatethatbothlegalandillegalRussiancrabislikelyimportedbySouthKorea,JapanandtheUnitedStates.ForeignvesselsandsomeRussianvesselsillegallyharvestcrab,andthisextremeoverexploitationofcrabcausesgraveconcernaboutthesustainabilityofseveralRussianFarEastcrabspecies.

ThisreportprovidesacomprehensiveanalysisofthedriversofRussiancrabtradeandexistingloopholesthatallowfortheoverharvestandillicittradeofRussiancrabtocontinue.Inparticular,thisreportincludes:

• anexplanationofthemethodusedtoestimateillegalcrabharvestvolumesandanalysisofcrabtradedata

• adescriptionofknownschemesforillegalcrabharvestandtradeandbilateralassessment/discussionofbilateralagreementsbetweenRussiaanditsmaintradepartners:SouthKorea,Japan,ChinaandtheUnitedStates

• acompilationofrecentlypublishedRussianandinter-nationalnewsreportsthatshowsthecomplexityandpervasivenessofillegalcrabharvestingfromRussianwatersandthedepthofinvolvementbyforeignersandRussiansalike

• adescriptionofconservationimpactsofoverexploitationofRussiancrab

• recommendationsforkeystakeholders,includingU.S.andJapanesegovernmentsandbuyers

Overview

© Hartmut Jungius / WWF-Canon

Frozen, whole red king crab.

ILLEGAL RUSSIAN CRAB: AN INVESTIGATION OF TRADE FLOW 3ILLEGAL RUSSIAN CRAB: AN INVESTIGATION OF TRADE FLOW

Introduction FromthefridgidmarinewatersoftheBeringSeaandtheSeaofOkhotsk,RussiaandtheUnitedStates(Alaska),producealmost91,000metrictons(200millionpounds)oflegallycaughtcrabeachyear.Besidesthelegalharvestsillegalcrabfloodsglobalmarkets,whichcausesartificiallylowpricesforlegalharvestersandoverexploita-tionofRussianFarEast(RFE)crabstocksthatcouldotherwisebesustainablymanaged.

MediareportsinRussianandinternationalpressfrequentlycoverspecificinstancesofille-gal,unreportedandunregulatedfishing(IUU1)ofcrabconfiscatedbyRussianauthoritiesorimportedbyRussia’smaintradepartners.NikolaiFyodorov,headoftheRussianMinistryofAgriculture,thebodyoverseeingRussia’sFederalFisheryAgency(Rosrybolovstvo),notedthatRussialosesupto$1billionper

yearfromillegalfishingofallseafoodspecies,includingcrab(Primamedia2014b).ThisestimatedlosswascorroboratedbyRussia’sGovernmentAccountabilityOffice,accordingtoareportgivenattheSeptember2014InternationalFisheryCongressinVladivostok.ThatreportalsonotedthatthatthisfigureexceedsthenetincomeofallRussianfisheriesbusinessesin2011(14.4billionrublesor$470million)andismorethan15%theannualturnoverofallofRussia’sfisheryenterprises(127.8billionrublesor$4.2billion)(Sukharenkoetal.2014).

Thislosttaxrevenue,atleastpartially,flowstotheforeign- flaggedvesselsthatharvestcrabillegallyinRussianwaters,andalsotosomeRussian-flaggedvesselsthateitheroverharvestorharvestcrabillegally.Knowntechniquestolaunderandmoveillegalcrabincludetransshipping,misdeclaring,falsifyingdoc-umentation,andmislabeling.ForeignportsreceivingRussiancrabaretypicallyinJapanandSouthKorea.Thesemayserveasanintermediatestop-offorafinaldestinationforillegalRussiancrabthattypicallyendupinJapanandtheUnitedStates.

Whenillegalcrabisinternationallytraded,itincreasestheworldsupply,depressesprices,andhencediminishesthecompetitive-nessandviabilityofthelegalcrabindustry.IllegalRussiancrabisanimportantissueforAlaska’scrabfishery,a$910milliondollarindustry,whichcompetesdirectlywithRussiancrab,particu-larlykingcrab,intheUnitedStatesandontheglobalmarket(McDowellGroup2013;HermannandGreenberg2006). 2 SeveralspeciesofcrabarecommerciallyimportanttoboththeAlaskanandRussiancrabfisheries(Box1).

1 ThisWWFreportoncrabusesthesingularterm‘illegal’interchangeablywiththetermIUU,whichistosaytheword‘illegal’usedhereisinclusiveofunreported(i.e.overharvested),andunregulatedfishing.

2CrabharvestfromthestateofAlaskaistheUnitedStates’onlydomesticsourceofkingandsnowcrab.Asearlyas1992,RussiaovertookAlaskaastheleadingsupplierofkingcrabtoJapaneseandU.S.markets.Meanwhile,in1995RussiaovertookAlaskaasthetopsnowcrabexportertoJapanandin2000RussiaovertookAlaskaasthetopsnowcrabsuppliertotheU.S.SeeHermannandGreenberg(2006).

BOX 1 CRAB SPECIES OF RUSSIA & COMMON NAMES

King crabParalithodes camtschaticus (red king / Kamchatka / краб камчатский) Paralithodes platypus (blue king / краб синий)Paralithodes brevipes (spiny brown king / краб колючий)Lithodes aequispinus (golden king / brown king / краб равношипый)

Snow crabChionoecetes opilio (opilio /queen /snow / краб-стригун опилио)Chionoecetes bairdi (tanner / snow / bairdi / краб-стригун берди/бэрда)Chionoecetes angulatus (triangle tanner / краб-стригун ангулятус)Chionoecetes japonicus (red snow / краб-стригун красный)

Other crabEriocheir sinensis (hairy mitten / Японский мохнаторукий краб)Erimacrus isenbeckii (Japanese horsehair / краб волосатый четырехугольный)

Year Percent from U.S. (Alaska)

Percent from Russia

2003 19.0% 79.5%

2004 21.1% 72.3%

2005 12.7% 82.3%

2006 5.6% 89.7%

2007 11.3% 83.6%

2008 16.9% 77.4%

2009 15.3% 80.8%

2010 23.5% 73.6%

2011 19.7% 78.0%

2012 21.4% 69.5%

2013* 19.8% 65.8%

11-yr avg. 16.9% 77.5%

*For 2013, Alaskan king crab TAC level used as a proxy for U.S. commercial landings due to lack of 2013 official catch data.

Data sources: NOAA (2014a, 2014b), Global Trade Atlas (2014)

TABLE 1 PERCENT OF U.S. DOMESTIC MARKET SUPPLY OF FROZEN KING CRAB FROM U.S. (ALASKA) AND RUSSIA


Thehighestvalueofthesespeciesisgarneredbyredkingcrab(Paralithodes camtschaticus,knownasKamchatkacrabinRussia).Threespeciesofkingcrab(red,blueandgolden)areconsumedinlargequantitiesintheUnitedStates.3U.S.marketsourcesofthesethreespeciesofkingcrabhistoricallyhavebeensplitprimarilybetweenAlaskaandRussia(MontereyBayAquarium2010).WWFcalculatedthatAlaskacrabhassupplied,onaverageforthepast11years,only16.9%oftheU.S.domesticconsumermarketforkingcrabwhileRussiahassupplied77.5%,onaverage(seeTable1)(SeafoodNews2014).

3Commonnamesarenotuniversallyusedformanyspeciesandoftenarenotthesamenamesusedwithintheindustryfromonecountrytoanother.CommonnamesusedbytheU.S.seafoodindustry,forinstance,wouldlabelthreeofthesespeciesas‘king’crabandonlytwoas‘snow’crab.IntheU.S.,‘king’crabspecificallyreferstothreespecies:redkingcrab(Paralithodes camtschaticus),bluekingcrab(Paralithodes platypus),andgolden(orbrown)kingcrab(Lithodes aequispinus).InRussia,however,theaggregatecategory‘king’crabisnotused,withRussiainsteadusingspecificcommonnamesforeachofthespeciesthatmakeuptheU.S.’s‘kingcrab’grouping.Someforeigncountriesperiodicallyusetheterm‘king’crabasitisaheavilyusedtermintheU.S.,wherethereisalargeconsumermarketforcrab.However,itappearsthatinternationalusageisappliedsometimestotheParalithodesgenus,thusleadingtoanasymmetricusage.Becausethecommonterm‘king’crab’(usedintheU.S.)isnotsynonymouswithParalithodes,itcanbeunclearinternationallywhichspecificspeciesofcrabarebeingreferenced.Meanwhile,withrespectto‘snow’crab,RussiancommonnamesindicatethatallfourChionoecetesspeciesarecommerciallyharvestedundertheterm‘streegune’insteadof‘snow.’Whereas,intheU.S.,thecommonname‘snow’crab,oftenonlyreferstoChionoecetes opilio,butsometimesincludesChionoecetes bairdiwith‘Tanner’crabanalternateorsecondnameforC. bairdi.Theothertwospeciesof‘snow’crabthatRussiaconsiderspartofitsaggregate‘streegune’category(Triangletannercrabandredsnowcrab)arenotharvestedinU.S.watersandthusarenotnormallyconsideredas‘snow’crab.Therefore,‘snow’crabisanunclearcommontermformultiplespeciesoftheChionoecetes genus.Importantly,thislevelofconfusionwithcrabspeciesnaminggoesbeyondeachcountry’scrabindustrynorms,andalsoispresentineachcountry’sCustomsclassificationsandtradedata.Whencommonnamesareusedintradedatareportingorwhengroupingsofspeciesarenotconsistentamongcountries,itpreventsadirectcomparisonofharvest,importandexportdataandcomplicatestradedataanalysis(seepages22and23foramorethoroughdiscussionoftheproblemsassociatedwithcurrentcrabclassificationcategoriesinCustomsandtradedata).Throughoutthisreport,theterms‘king’and‘snow’areusedonlywhentheyareaccompaniedbyaclarificationofwhichspecieseachtermencapsulates.

BecauseofthehighrateofcrabimportsfromRussia,AmericansdiningonkingorsnowcrabmaybeconsumingRussiancrab,andifso,shouldbeawarethatasignificantportionofcrabfromRussianwaterscouldbeillegal.Currently,governmentorprivateentitiesdonotcommonlyusesea-food-trackingsystemsthatverifylegality.

U.S.companiesthatimportillegalcrabfromRussia,eveniftheydosounknowingly,maybeheldlegallyresponsiblewithpenaltiesrangingfromproductforfeituretocriminalpros-ecution.TheU.S.LaceyActprohibitstradeinwildlife,fish(includingseafood)andplants(includingwood)thathavebeenillegallytaken,possessed,transportedorsold.ThemostrecentLaceyActcaseinvolvingillegalcraboccurredin2011.TheU.S.companyHarborSeafood,Inc.forfeited$2.75millionworthofkingcrab(seeBox2).ThevalueofHarborSeafood’sforfeitedimportsrepresented1.3%ofthetotalvalueofUnitedStates’importsofRussiancrabduringthatyear.4

Importantly,Russia’sdomesticdata,(suchasofficialtotalallowablecatch[TAC],catchandexportvolumes),portrayanormal,regulatedfisherythatdoesnotcatchmorethanisallocatedanddoesnotexportmorethaniscaught(seeFigure1).However,illegalcrabisnotreflectedinthesedomesticcatchdataorRussianexportvolumes.ItwasnotuntilWWFlookedatJapanese,SouthKorean,U.S.andotherimportdatathatmajortradediscrepanciesbecameapparentinRussiancrabtradequantities,withvolumesfarexceedingannualcatchlimits.

4TheUnitedStatesimported$218millionofRussiancrabin2010and$208millionin2011.

© WWF-US / Heather Brandon

King crab legs and meat for sale in a Russian seafood market.


USA Import from Russia

China Import from Russia

Japan Import from Russia

South Korea Import from Russia

Total Aggregate Russian CrabImports by USA, China, Japan &South Korea

Total Aggregate Russian CrabExports to USA, China, Japan &South Korea

Russian Official TAC

Russian Official Crab Catch

2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013

200,000

180,000

160,000

140,000

120,000

80,000

60,000

40,000

20,000

100,000

0

Met

ric T

ons

of L

ive

and

Froz

en C

rab

(in li

ve w

eigh

t equ

ival

ent)

FIGURE 1RUSSIAN CRAB TAC, CATCH, AND EXPORT DATA (IN COLOR) WITH OFFICIAL IMPORT DATA (IN GRAYSCALE), 2000-20135

5Theliveweightequivalent(LWE)unitallowscomparisonbetweenmetrictonsofliveandfrozencrabbyconvertingtheweightoffrozencrabtoits‘liveweightequivalent’.ConversionoffrozenweighttoitsliveweightequivalentisconsistentwithRussianandU.S.literatureonthesubjectandassumes,onaverage,frozencrabweighs60%ofitsliveweight(TINRO2014).Thisconversionisusedthroughoutthispapertoaggregatethefrozenandlivecrabcategoriesintradedata.

Data Sources: Russian Federal Fishery Agency–TAC (2014), Russian Federal Fishery Agency–Harvest Data (2014), Global Trade Atlas (2014)

BOX 2THE U.S. LACEY ACT, FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION (FDA) REGULATIONS AND ILLEGAL CRAB

American companies and individuals that import illegally harvested seafood—knowingly or not—put themselves at risk of violating the United States Lacey Act (16 U.S.C. § 3371-3378). The Lacey Act also prohibits false labelling, such as improperly labelled packaging. The Act provides for criminal and civil penalties, which range from jail time to fines and forfeiture of seafood and vessels. In addition, products covered by the Lacey Act, including crab, that are taken in violation of a foreign government’s regulations are subject to forfeiture under the Lacey Act, 16 U.S.C. § 3374(a), on a strict liability basis. In a recent case, (United States v. 144,774 Pounds of Blue King Crab, 410 F.3d 1131 [9th Cir. 2005]) an innocent owner defense was raised in the forfeiture proceedings. The court held that under the Civil Asset Forfeiture Reform Act, 18 U.S.C. § 983, the innocent owner defense cannot be asserted when the property to be forfeited is “contraband or other property that it is illegal to possess.”

U.S. FDA regulations require food products entering the U.S. to be accompanied by information on its last processing facility, which must also be registered in advance with the FDA. Failure to comply with each FDA requirement is grounds for forfeiture. Forfeiture is a clear risk to U.S. seafood companies and individual employees which “fail to exercise reasonable care” in complying with importation regulations, including product origin, product labelling, packing lists, accurate invoices and facility registration. These obligations firmly rest with the U.S. importer.

A 2011 Lacey Act case involved Russian crab (United States v. 112 Metric Tons of Frozen King Crab, No. 11-334 [W.D. Wa.)] [filed Feb. 24, 2011]) imported by a U.S. company, Harbor Seafood, Inc. The company attempted to import Russian blue king crab that had been harvested by vessels that did not possess enough crab quotas or were not permitted to harvest crab in Russia. The Russian crab was believed to be transshipped through South Korea before being imported into the United States. As a result of violations of the Lacey Act and FDA regulatory requirements, Harbor Seafood, Inc. forfeited $2.75 million worth of crab in 2011, which it later bought back from the U.S. government at auction, essentially paying twice for the same crab. The case was settled in 2012.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Francis Franze-Nakamura notes (2014), “This case sends a message to importers who are not exercising reasonable care that what happened to Harbor Seafood, Inc. could happen to you. You could be looking at the complete loss of your shipment.”

Sources: NOAA (2012), Seattle Times (2011b), Alexander (2014), U.S. Department of Justice (2005)


Inrecentyears,RussiahasworkedtocombatillegalfishinginitswatersbydevelopingbilateralagreementswithJapan,SouthKoreaandChina,developingaNationalActionPlantoaddressillegalfisheries,includingcrab,andcontinuingenforcementatsea.RussiaandtheUnitedStatesareworkingtodevelopabilateralagreementregardingthemutualcooperationofthetwonationstoaddressIUU.Indeed,levelsofillegalcrabharvesthavefallenfromegregiouslyhighamountsthatwerefourtimesthelegallimitin2006and2007tolessthantwotimesthelegallimitin2013.Despitetheseefforts,illegalcrabcontinuestobeharvestedinRussianwaters,withimportsofRussiancrabexceedingtheofficialharvestvolumeby1.7timesin2013.Asthisreportshows,theproblemismultilateralandthusdemandsmultilateralsolutions.

General Russian Crab Harvest & Total Allowable Catch InformationInRussia’swaters,tenspeciesofcrabarecommerciallyhar-vested(seeBox1).TheRussianFederationmaintainsfishingzonejurisdictionsandpublishesyearlytotalallowablecatch(TAC)levelsforeachofthetenspecies.Table2indicatesRussia’soverallTACforcrabaswellasredkingcrabTACassplitbetweenRussia’swesternBarentsSea(borderingNorway),andRussia’sPacificwaters(BeringSeaandSeaofOkhotsk)intheRussianFarEast(RFE).RedkingcrabandsnowcrabintheBarentsSeaarenon-native(seeBox3onthehistoryofRussia’scommercialcrabfisheryintheBarentsSea),andthereforeover-exploitationisnotaconservationconcern.

TABLE 2 RUSSIAN FEDERATION’S TOTAL ALLOWABLE CATCH (TAC) FOR CRAB, 2010-2014

All values in metric tons 2010 TAC 2011 TAC 2012 TAC 2013 TAC 2014 TACTotal Crab

Red King Crab

Total Crab

Red King Crab

Total Crab

Red King Crab

Total Crab

Red King Crab

Total Crab

Red King Crab

TOTAL 49,831 5,828 49,075 5,460 49,097 7,371 61,396 14,241 62,748 13,722

Total in Far East Basin 45,830 1,828 45,074 1,460 43,596 1,871 55,395 8,241 55,148 7,222

Total in Barents Sea 4,000 4,000 4,001 4,000 5,501 5,500 6,001 6,000 6,000 6,500

Percent of TAC that is in the Barents Sea 8.0% 68.6% 8.2% 73.3% 11.2% 74.6% 9.8% 42.1% 12.1% 47.4%

Data Source: Russian Federal Fishery Agency – TAC (2014)

FIGURE 2MAP OF RUSSIAN FAR EAST FISHING SUB-ZONES

Map Source: http://www.dalryba.ru/ssd/map1.gif, amended and updated by WWF

Basin Codes:273 -North Sea of Okhotsk277 Ю/С -South / North Primorye274 -West Kamchatka398 -West Bering Sea278 -East Sakhalinsk (Okhotsk)275 -East Sakhalinsk (Sea of Japan)272 -Kamchatka-Kurilsk267 & 268 -North Kurilsk270 & 271 -South Kurilsk264 -Karagansk265 -Petropavlovsk-Komandorovsk

298- Central Sea of Okhotsk (officially part of Russia’s continental shelf as of March 2014


WWFfocusedprimarilyonlegalandillegalcommercialcrabfisheriesintheRFE,ratherthanintheBarents,becauseallcrabspeciesintheRFEarenativeandsubjecttopotentialoverex-ploitation.Figure2depictsamapoftheRFEfishingsub-zonebasinsintheNorthPacific,andthesesub-zonesarereferencedthroughoutthispaper.

King Crab Historically,redkingcrabwasRussia’smostcommerciallyvaluablespeciesofcrabandcomprisedabouthalfofRussia’stotalcrabharvest(Ivanov2002).Howeverthispercentstartedtodeclineinthe1990s,andbetween2001and2005redkingcrabfellfrom31.1%to4.2%ofthetotalTACforallcrabspecies(TINRO2014).6Bythemid-2000s,itwasclearthatredkingcrabstocksintheRussianFarEasthadbeenheavilyoverex-ploitedandweresufferingfromcatastrophicdecline.7

TherearethreemainpopulationsofredkingcrabintheRussianFarEast:(1)WesternKamchatkaandKamchatka-KurilIslands(WesternKamchatkapopulation),(2)North-OkhotskSea,and(3)PrimoryeandWesternSakhalin(DvoretskyandDvoretsky2014). 8In2005-2006,duetotheconsistentoverharvestofredkingcrabintheFarEast,thehistoricallyabundantWestKamchatkaandKamchatka-Kurilskharvestsub-zones(sub-zones

6Between1999and2006,theofficialharvestofredkingcrabfellby17times,from33,000tounder2,000mt(from73millionlbs.tounder4millionlbs.).

7Alsointhemid-2000s,theBarentsSeainvasiveredkingcrabpopulationdramaticallyincreasedandacommercialredkingcrabfisherybeganthere.

8ThereareothersmallerpopulationsofredkingcrabintheRussianFarEast;however,theyrepresentamuchsmallerproportionofthetotalstock.

274and272inFigure2),hometothelargestofthesethreepopulationsandsurveyedannuallyforover30years,wereclosedtocommercialcrabfishing.Althoughthefisherywasre-openedbrieflyin2007,thestockofredkingcrabcontinuedtodeclinedrastically.

In2008,WestKamchatkaandKamchatka-Kurilsksub-zoneswereclosedtokingcrabharvestingindef-initely.In2013,theRussianFederalFisheryAgencydeterminedthatredkingcrabstocksintheWestKamchatkaandtheKamchatka-Kurilsksub-zoneshadsufficientlyrecoveredandre-openedtheseareastocommercialcrabbing,thuscausingRussia’soverallredkingcrabTACtodoublefrom2012to2013(seeTable2).Additionally,withthere-openingofthesesub-zonesin2013,theredkingcrabTACintheRFEbecamehigherthantheTACintheBarentsSea(NationalFisheryResources2014).Figure3indicates

thatthemostproductiveharvestareasforthethreekingcrabspecies(red,blueandgolden)istheWestKamchatka(sub-zoneNo.274)with32%ofthetotalaggregateTACforthesespecies.

Duringthesummerof2014,Russia’sPacificScientificResearchCenterforFisheriesandOceanography(TINRO)officiallypeti-tionedtheAll-RussianScientificResearchCenterforFisheriesandOceanography(VNIRO)tosubstantiallyincreasetheredkingcrabTACintheWestKamchatkaandKamchatka-Kurilsksub-zones.TheproposaltoincreasethepreviouslysetTACfrom3.3-to6.1-thousandmetrictons(mt)intheWestKamchatkasub-zone(7.2-to13.4-millionlbs.),andfrom1.79-to3.78-thou-sandmt(3.9-to8.3-millionlbs.)intheKamchatka-Kurilsksub-zone,wasbasedonrecentscientificsurveysdonebyTINROalongwithotherFarEasternfisheriesresearchcentersandwaspresentedtoVNIROmid-summer2014(TINROCenterNews2014).Atthetimeofthisreport’sreleaseinautumn2014,theproposalhadnotbeenacceptedbyVNIROand,hence,isnotcurrentlyineffect,eventhoughRussia’sredkingcrabseasonopenedSeptember1stof2014.Ifaccepted,thisin-seasonTACchangewoulddoubleRussia’stotalTACforredkingcrabfrom4.9thousandmtto9.9thousandmt(10.8-to21.8-millionlbs.).Russia’s2014redkingcrabseasonendsonDecember31,2014andthusfaritisunclearwhetherRussia’sredkingcrabTACwilldrasticallyincreasepartwaythroughthe2014season.Additionally,accordingtoTINRO,bluekingandgoldenkingcrabhavehadstablepopulations,withTAClevelsforthesespe-ciesfluctuatingbetween3,000and4,000mt(6.6millionand8.8millionlbs.)through2012.

32%

26%

16%

7%

7%

4%4% 3%

1%

274 - West-KamchatkaBarents Sea (Atlantic)273 -North Sea of Okhotsk272 - Kamchatka-Kurilsk398 - West Bering Sea277 Ю - South Primorye277 С - North Primorye 267 & 268 - North KurilskOther sub-zones

FIGURE 32014 KING CRAB TACBy sub-zone Red, Blue, and Golden (3 spp.)Total 2014 King Crab TAC = 24,698 mt



Snow CrabInconnectionwiththedeclineofredkingcrabintheFarEastbasin,TINROshifteditsresearchin2009tothemoreproductivesnowcrabspecies:opilio,redsnowandbairdi(TINRO2014).Opiliosnowcrab(Chionoecetes opilio)becamethedominantlegalcrabfisheryinRussia’sFarEastwithstableTAClevelshoveringaround20,000mt(44millionlbs.)through2014.Redsnowcrab(Chionoecetes japonicas)isfoundinabundanceintheSouthPrimoryesub-zone(sub-zone277ЮinFigure2)andin2014hasthesecondhighestTACofthesnowcrabspecies,rangingfrom10,500mt(44.1millionlbs.)in2010to7,500mt(23millionlbs.)in2014.Figure4indicatesthatthemostproductiveharvestareaforsnowcrab,accordingtothe2014TACistheNorthSeaofOkhotsk(sub-zone273),with34%ofthetotalaggregateTACforfoursnowcrabspecies(opilio,bairdi,trian-gleTannerandredsnow).

Figure5showsthedistributionofthe2014TACforkingandsnowcrabineachharvestsub-zone.ThetallestbluebarsindicateharvestzoneswiththehighestshareofkingcrabTACin2014.Forexample,intheWestKamchatkazonekingcrabisharvestedalmostexclusively(bluebaris99%).ThedotsintheblacklinemarkthetotalTACamountforallcrabspecies,whichforWestKamchatkasub-zoneisapprox-imately8,000mt(17.6millionlbs.).Figure5depictswhichsub-zonescontainkingcrab(bluebar),snowcrab(redbar),orboth,and,separately,theabsolutesizeoftheTACineachsub-zone.

FIGURE 42014 SNOW CRAB TACBy Subzone - Opilio, Bairdi, Triangle Tanner & Red Snow (4 spp.)Total 2014 Snow Crab TAC = 36,619 mt



Barents Sea (Atlantic)

273 - North Sea of Okhotsk

272 - Kamchatka-Kurilsk

398 - West Bering Sea

277 Ю - South Primorye

277 С - North Primorye

Other sub-zones

278 - East-Sakhalinsk (Sea of Okhotsk)

264 - Karagansk

34%

30%

12%

9%

5%4%

3%

1% 2%

Sorting of snow crab on deck a crab harvesting vessel.


BOX 3CRAB IN RUSSIA’S BARENTS SEA

In the 1960s, Russia deliberately introduced red king crab as an alien species into the Barents Sea, bordering Norway in northwestern Russia. Red king crab stocks swelled as intended in the 1990s and 2000s, providing Russia with a new commercial fishery in 2004. As a commercial species, crab from the Barents Sea has provided only 10% of Russia’s crab on average. Yet, this consists mostly of red king crab; therefore, the Barents Sea is a substantial source of Russian-origin red king crab (see Table 2).

As the Barents Sea commercial red king crab fishery ramped up in the 2000s, red king crab abundance in the RFE declined significantly. However, these did not balance each other out. Overall, Russia’s nationwide TAC for red king crab fell by 82% between 2000 and 2010 (32,560 mt [71.8 million lbs.] in 2000 compared to 5,828 mt [12.8 million lbs.] in 2010).

A second invasive crab species has recently become the target of a new fishery in the Barents Sea: snow crab. In 2011, for the first time in history, the Russian Federal Fishery Agency issued a snow crab (Chionoecetes opilio) TAC of 1 mt in the Barents Sea for research purposes. By 2014, Barents Sea snow crab was commercially harvested under an initial TAC of 1,100 mt (2.4 million lbs.).

The Barents Sea now has two introduced crab species that have grown to levels high enough to allow for commercial harvesting. The conservation threat associated with invasive red king and snow crab in the Barents Sea is related to disturbing the native food web and ecosystem, and not related to unsustainable harvesting practices. Red king crab spread west from Russian waters and invaded Norway’s fjords. The crab are devouring benthic organisms including capelin and lumpfish eggs and commercially valuable scallops; eating cod from long line gear; tangling up gillnets; and potentially spreading a blood parasite to fish. Effects of the red king crab invasion and population explosion are more intense in the steep fjords of Norway than the more gently sloping Russian Barents Sea, but the reasons for that are not currently understood. Russian fisheries managers are intent on sustaining these invasive crab populations for long-term harvesting, while Norwegian fishery managers view the invasive crab with more caution since long-term impacts to native species, traditional fisheries and the marine ecosystem are largely unknown.

Sources: Fisheries.no (n.d.), Institute of Marine Research (2013), Barents Observer (2014), Sundet (2014)

273 -‐North Sea of

Okhotsk

277 Ю -‐ South

Primorye

274 -‐ West-‐Kamchatka

Barents Sea (Atlantic)

398 -‐ West Bering Sea

278 -‐ East-‐Sakhalinsk (Okhotsk)

272 -‐ Kamchatka-‐

Kurilsk

277 С -‐ North

Primorye

267 & 268 -‐ North Kurilsk

264 -‐ Karagansk

275 -‐ East-‐Sakhalinsk (Sea of Japan)

265 -‐ Petropavlo

vsk-‐Komandor

ovsk

270 & 271 -‐ South Kurilsk

% King Crab -‐ Red, Blue, and Golden (left axis) 23.73% 8.56% 99.58% 85.53% 33.11% 1.99% 54.92% 32.02% 100.00% 2.06% 0.33% 0.67% 48.02%% Snow Crab -‐ Opilio, Bairdi, Triangle Tanner & Red Snow (left axis)76.27% 86.71% 0.04% 14.47% 66.89% 93.83% 43.55% 55.09% 0.00% 95.64% 99.34% 99.33% 0.00%% Other Crab (left axis) 0.00% 4.73% 0.38% 0.00% 0.00% 4.18% 1.53% 12.89% 0.00% 2.30% 0.33% 0.00% 51.98%Total TAC for all crab species (metric tons) (right axis)16,232 12,894 7,943 7,600 4,932 4,817 3,263 3,086 690 436 303 300 252

0 1,650 3,300 4,950 6,600 8,250 9,900 11,550 13,200 14,850 16,500

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90%

100%

TAC-‐

Met

ric Ton

s

Percen

t of T

AC

Fishing Harvest Zone -‐ numbers correspond to map in Figure 2

% King Crab -‐ Red, Blue, and Golden (leO axis) % Snow Crab -‐ Opilio, Bairdi, Triangle Tanner & Red Snow (leO axis)

% Other Crab (leO axis) Total TAC for all crab species (metric tons) (right axis)

FIGURE 52014 RUSSIAN TAC BY FISHING SUB-ZONE AND BY PERCENT KING AND SNOW CRAB SPECIES

Data sources: Russian Federal Fishery Agency –TAC (2014), TINRO (2014, 105)

Fishing Harvest Zone numbers correspond to map in Figure 2.


Russia’s Crab Trade and IUU Prevention Efforts


The Beginning of Russia’s Illegal Crab IndustryRussia’sdomesticdemandforcrabproductsinanyformisminimal.9Thus,theprinciplegoalfortheRussiancrabindus-tryistoexportcrabforsaleinforeignmarketswheredemandishigh.Priorto1991,duringtheSovietperiod,fishingwashighlyregulatedandthefishingindustrywastightlycontrolled.However,beginningintheearly1990swiththebreak-upoftheSovietUnion,thenewlyformedRussiangovernmentwasunabletoeffectivelycontrolandenforcefisheriesmanagementwithinitsterritorialwaters.Duetoweakdomesticgovernanceandenforce-mentaswellasthehighinternationaldemandforRussiancrab,

9Recently,inMoscow,St.PetersburgandsomeRFEmarketstherehasbeenanobservedincreaseindemandforproductsmadefromcrabaroundNewYear’sEve.Nevertheless,overalldomesticdemandforcrabcontinuestobelowduetoproductavailabilityandhighprice.

therewasanexplosionofillegal,unreportedandunregulatedfishingforcrabwithinRussia’sterritorialwaters(Newell2004).

Methods of Illegal CrabbingOnceharvested,illegalcrabisthenlaunderedtoappearthatithaslegalorigin.Knowntechniquesforlaunderingillegalcrabincludemisdeclaringquantities,mislabelingproducts,creatingfalsedocumentation,andbribery.Therearemanyanecdotalstoriesandnewsreportsonspecificinstancesofhowillegalcrabfishingtakesplace.Thereappeartobetwoprimarymethodsforharvestandtransport:10

1) byRussian-flaggedvessels,whichharvestmorethantheirlegalquota.Theycaneither(intentionallyorunintention-ally)misdeclaretheirproduct,off-loadundeclaredproductontoatransportvesselatsea,ordeliverundeclaredcrabdirectlytoaforeignport(SeeBox4);or

2) byavesselthatdoesnothavelegalrightstoharvestcrabbutdoessoanyway.Vesselsinthiscategorycanbeowned,operatedorflaggedbyRussia,ortheycouldbeaforeign-flaggedvessel.Russiadoesnotgiveoutpermitsorquotasforcrabharvestingtoanyforeign-flaggedvesselsinitsExclusiveEconomicZone(EEZ)(SeeBoxes5and6).

10Russiancrabiscaughtliveandcaneitherbestoredwithinavessel’sholdfortwotofourweeks,orbefrozenonboardavessel(withorwithoutfirstflashcooking).Evenwithrecirculatingwaterinthevessel’shold(commononRussianandU.S.vessels),thereissomestandardlossduetocrabdyingwhenlivecrabareheldintanksonboardavessel.

SECTION HIGHLIGHTSIllegal crab is harvested by foreign-flagged vessels and some Russian-flagged vessels, yet it is unclear which set of vessels is the greater contributor to illegal harvest amounts. Russia has implemented laws and developed a National Action Plan to address IUU in an attempt to gain control over the criminal activity in Russian Far East waters.

Emptying snow crab from a pot.


BOX 4RUSSIAN-FLAGGED VESSELS CITED FOR ILLEGAL CRAB HARVESTING

April 2014 – Sea of Okhotsk A freezer trawler vessel, Kamchatka Salmon, chartered for scientific research by the government-run Kamchatka Research Institute of Fisheries and Oceanography (KamchatNIRO) was inspected and impounded in Petropavlovsk-Kamchatksy to await trial for illegal crab harvesting. The Russian-flagged and crewed vessel had 27 mt (59,525 lbs.) of blue king crab and 13.5 mt (29,762 lbs.) of additional crab products in unmarked boxes on board. Crab, vessel and fishing documents were seized. Both the captain of the vessel and KamchatNIRO were cited in violation of harvesting aquatic biological resources. If found guilty, KamchatNIRO faces administrative penalties and vessel confiscation. Source: Fishkamchatka (2014a)

March 2014 – Barents Sea Lovozero district court in the Murmansk Region, found the captain of the Russian-flagged vessel Angel guilty of overharvesting at least 1,344 individual red king crabs with a value, including damages, of 1,122,240 rubles ($33,281) in the Barents Sea. The vessel’s captain is required to compensate the federal budget in full as well as pay an additional fine of 100,000 rubles ($2,965). Source: Regnum News (2014b)

January 2014 – Sea of Okhotsk The Russian-flagged freezer trawler Andrey Smirnov was detained for possessing illegal crab. Border patrol inspectors found 4.1 mt (9,039 lbs.) of processed blue king crab on board the Andrey Smirnov. The captain of the vessel was cited in violation of harvesting aquatic biological resources and if found guilty would face administrative penalties as well as vessel confiscation. The Andrey Smirnov was seized previously by Russia’s federal authorities in October 2012 after border guards found 40 mt (80,000 lbs.) of undocumented frozen cooked crab legs. Additionally, border guards determined that the vessel had disabled its positioning system for a few days, and thus authorities were unsure where the crab had been harvested. Source: Interfax Russia (2012), Primamedia (2014a)

BOX 5FOREIGN-FLAGGED VESSELS POACHING CRAB IN RUSSIA’S FAR EAST

September 2014 – A vessel flagged in the Republic of Togo named Katraps attempted to evade a Russian Border Patrol vessel. Katraps was unmarked, unresponsive to radio contact, failed to broadcast anti-collision signals and raced away from the Border Patrol. Upon inspection, Katraps contained fragments of crab, was equipped to transport live crab, yet had no documentation or permission to fish within the Russia’s EEZ. Katraps was crewed by 13 people – 11 Russians and 2 Ukrainians – and the ship owner was registered in Belize. The vessel was impounded in the port of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky. Source: Fishkamchatka (2014b)

May 2014 – In the Sea of Okhotsk, the Russian Border Guard detained the Belize-owned, Cambodian-flagged vessel Olkhon carrying crab, crab-harvesting gear, and a crew of 16 Russians and two Indonesians. Olkhon had no documents entitling them to harvest any other fish species in Russia’s EEZ, nor were authorities notified when the vessel entered Russian waters. The vessel was escorted to the port of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky for trial for violating laws governing the production of living aquatic resources and protection of fisheries. Source: Border Guard of Kamchatka Krai (2014)

February 2014 – The fishing vessel Satsunan, sailing under the flag of Saint Kitts and Nevis, fled from a Russian Border Guard vessel and helicopter for over two hours, all the while the Russian and Ukrainian crewmembers dumped crab overboard in the Cape Mosolov area off Primorsky Krai. Once apprehended, 200 kg (441 lbs.) of opilio snow crab were found, the freezers were full of frozen herring crab bait, and the Satsunan captain was identified as a repeat offender of illegal fishing offenses. The Satsunan was escorted to the port of Nakhodka. Source: Russian News (2014)

November 2013 – Russian Border Service division of the Federal Security Service (FSB) shot at and stopped the Cambodian-flagged vessel Iskander from fleeing Russia’s EEZ. The vessel’s crew were visibly throwing crab over the deck during the chase. The crew consisted of 14 Russian citizens and four Indonesian nationals. The vessel was also equipped for harvest and transport of crab and carried frozen herring, common crab bait. Source: RIA News (2013b)

October 2013 – The Russian Border Guard nabbed the Belize-flagged vessel Freedom for illegally harvesting, storing and transporting 10,501 live crabs (15 mt or 33,069 lbs.). The Russian captain pled guilty in Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky city court, and was sentenced to two years in jail and was required to relinquish his captain’s license for four years. However, in January 2014, the Kamchatka prosecutor gave the Freedom’s captain total amnesty and released him from jail, citing the 20th anniversary of the Russian Federation’s Constitution as the reason. The vessel owner, a company named “Benefit Limited,” was ordered to pay a fine of twice the value of the catch and the costs—a total of more than 12 million rubles ($344,000)—and the vessel Freedom was seized by officials. Sources: Regnum News (2014a, 2014c), My Petropavlovsk-Kamchatskiy News (2014), KamInform (2014)

King crab shoulder and legs for sale in a Russian seafood market. © WWF-US / Heather Brandon


Current Russian Measures to Deter Illegal CrabbingBythemid-2000s,overexploitationofcrabfromRussia’sFarEastwaterswaswidespread.Thisfishingpressurediminishedstocksofredkingcrabandothercrabspecies,causingadeficit,whichseverelyimpactedRussia’slegalcrabindustry.Beginningin2007,inanattempttoestablishstrongerstatecontrolovertheillegalcrabindustry,theRussiangovernmentbegantoimplementaseriesofmeasuresthatwereintendedtocurbillegalharvestingofcrab(seeTimelinebelow).

Inmid-2007,RussiabannedtheexportoflivecrabofallspeciescaughtinRussia’sEEZ,amoveitwouldrescindin2011inpartduetotheunintendedandundesirableincentivesitgavetoincreasecrabpoaching(Agrobel2007;Jinji2007;RussianFederalFisheryAgency2011).InDecember2008,RussianLawNo.250–F3mandatedallvesselsfishingwithinitsEEZwish-ingtoexporttheircatchtoreturnfirsttoaRussianporttohavetheirexportdocumentationfilledout,checkedandfiled.11

Inadditiontotheseexportrequirements,aroundthistimetheRussiangovernmentbegandiscussingbilateralagreementswiththemainimportingcountriesofRussiancrab:Japan,SouthKorea,ChinaandtheUnitedStates.BilateralagreementsnowhavebeensignedbetweenRussiaandJapan,ChinaandSouthKorea.Thestatusofthesebilateralagreementsisgivenbelow.RussiaandtheU.S.havebeendiscussinganIUUagreementforseveralyears,andinSeptember2014theagreementlanguagewasfinalizedinaclosedmeetingbetweenthetwocountries.

11AsiscustomaryinRussia,afteralawisinitiallysignedandthenpublishedintheRossyiskaya Gazeta,itbecomesofficialandenforceable,andthustheRussianportlandingrequirementwentintoeffectDecember9,2008.SeeRossiskaya Gazeta(2008).

InDecember2013,theRussianMinistryofAgriculture,undertheFishingIndustryDevelopmentFederalProgram,approvedaNationalActionPlantopreventIUUfishing. 12AccordingtotheRussianGovernment(2013),theNationalActionPlanprescribesthefollowingstepsthatRussiashouldtakeinorderto“eliminatethecausesandtheconditionsthatcontributetothedevelopmentandgrowthofillegal,unreported,andunregulatedfishing:

• analyzeRussianlegislationforcompliancewithinterna-tionallawandsubmitproposalsforoptimizingittothegovernment,inparticular,toensuretheregulationoftheacceptance,loading,transportation,storageandunloadingofbiologicalwaterresources;toregulatetheprocedureforcharteringfishingvessels;toinspectvesselsthatsailunderforeignflagsinRussianseaports;andtoproperlymarkfishingvesselsandfishingequipment;

• strengthencontroloverbiologicalwaterresourcetrade;• createasystemtomonitortheoriginofbiologicalwater

resourcesatallstagesoftheirmoving;• introduceelectroniclogbooksande-signaturesforfishing

vesselcaptains;• takemeasurestopreventRussiannationalsfrompar-

ticipatinginillegal,unreported,andregulatedfishingorsupportingit;

• developinternationalcooperationinpreventingillegal,unreportedandunregulatedfishingandillegalbiologicalwaterresourcetrade;

• strengthenadministrativeandcriminalpunishmentfortheviolatorsofRussianlegislationonfishingandonthepreservationofbiologicalwaterresources;

• takeregularpreventativemeasurestoexposeandstoptheillegalproductionofbiologicalwaterresources.”

12Nationalplansofactiontoprevent,deterandeliminateIUUFishingarecalledforbytheFoodandAgricultureOrganization(FAO)InternationalPlanforthesame,adoptedbyFAOmemberStatesin2001.VirtuallyalloftheprovisionsinRussia’sNationalPlanarecalledforintheInternationalPlan.Theinternationalplansweresupposedtobedonein2004,althoughmanycountriesstillareworkingonthem.

2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2011 2012 2010 2013 2014 2015

2007 – Russian Federa-on bans export of live crabs outside of its EEZ for the Far East basin

December 2008– Russian Law No. 250-‐F3 passes which requires vessels fishing within Russia’s EEZ to return to a Russian port in order to have export documenta-on filled out and checked

April 2014– Russian-‐Japanese bilateral IUU agreement comes into

effect (signed September 2012)

2011 – Russian Federa-on liQs ban on transpor-ng

live crabs outside of its EEZ

December 2013 – Russian Federa-on approves

‘Na-onal Ac-on Plan to Prevent IUU Fishing’

May 2013–Russia nego-ates with South Korea to allow South Korea a higher pollock quota for 2014 if South Korea takes concrete measures to prevent illegally harvested Russian crab from

entering Korean ports

December 2009 –Russia and South Korea sign

bilateral IUU agreement


BOX 6AIS SIGNALS SHOW POSSIBLE ILLEGAL ACTIVITY BY BOTH FOREIGN AND RUSSIAN VESSELS

WWF’s Smart Fishing Initiative and Navama* examined the Automatic Identification System (AIS) signals for 32 vessels believed to have delivered crab to Hokkaido, Japan in early 2012. Twenty-five vessels were foreign-flagged, and of those 25 only six broadcast AIS. Failing to broadcast an AIS signal is not illegal, but some vessels could be attempting to intentionally avoid detection. Of those six foreign-flagged vessels with AIS turned on, two vessels showed a pattern that indicated harvesting in Russian waters, and three approached the Russia-Japan maritime border, which could indicate transshipment.

WWF and Navama were not able to determine patterns for the other 19 vessels because the AIS signals were not broadcast. Seven of the 32 vessels investigated by WWF and Navama were Russian-flagged vessels. All seven Russian-flagged vessels broadcast AIS signals. The AIS signals indicated that five out of the seven Russian-flagged vessels showed a pattern of possible harvesting in Russian waters. Additionally, patterns also showed direct transit of these vessels to ports in Japan without stopping in a Russian port first to register the catch, therefore potentially violating Russian law (if crab or other seafood harvested from Russian waters was off-loaded in Japan). WWF and Navama were not able to ascertain the comparative volume of crab removals conducted by Russian-flagged illegal harvesters versus foreign-flagged illegal harvesters.

In 2014, TINRO noted “the quantity of vessels flagged by a third country, which illegally fished for crab in Russian waters and then landed their product in Japan or South Korea, had considerably decreased as a result of the actions of the Federal Marine Inspection and Border Service” (TINRO 2014, 105). However, WWF was unable to find additional enforcement information with respect to foreign-flagged vessels that could support or dispute this claim.

*Navama is a Germany-based technology company dedicated to nature conservation. See http://navama.com


ForRussia,thisnecessary,yetambitious,setofdomesticgoalsrepresentsanimportantstepforagovernmentthathasrecognizedthecorruptionandwidespreadillegalactivityinitsfisheriessectorforyearsandhasfailedtobringaboutsignifi-cantchangesuntilrecently.

InFebruaryandMarch2014,governmentofficialsfromtheMinistriesofAgriculture,Fisheries,DevelopmentoftheFarEast,andFederalServiceforVeterinaryandPhytosanitarySurveillanceledaseriesofmeetingswithlocalFarEastadministratorsandrepresentativesofseafoodbusinessesinVladivostoktodeveloppracticalmeasuresforseveraloftheaforementionedgoals.Theagenciesagreedthataninitialnecessarystepwastodevelopcooperativejointmeasuresinordertoachievetraceabilityoffishandseafoodproducts.Oneinitiativediscussedwastheintroductionofelectronic“veterinary”certificationsthatwouldprovidefulltraceabil-ityofthesupplychainfromseatoconsumer(Primamedia2014b).OfficialsatthemeetingsalsodiscussedtheneedfortheRussianFederalFisheryAgencytopartnerwithlawenforcementagenciesandotherauthoritiestoconductauditsofalltransportationroutes,placesofstorageandprocessinglocationsoffishandseafood(RussianMinistryofAgriculture2014).NikolaiFyodorov,theheadofRussia’sMinistryofAgriculture,noted“itisnecessarytoorganizeanddisplayourworksothatthegeneralperceptionofRussianauthority,fisherman,andtheimageoftheentireindustryas‘oneofthemostcriminalizedsectors’isleftbehindandanewimageoffishermanisperceivedbythepublic”(Ibid.,para.11).

Snow crab.



Partner Country Trade Information and IUU Bilateral Initiatives

Russia’sfourmainforeignmarketsforcrabareJapan,SouthKorea,theUnitedStatesandChina(seeFigure6).ThemarketdemandforRussiancrabdiffersineachcountry,asdoeseachcountry’sbilateralinitiativewithRussiatodecreasethesupplyofillegalcrab.Thefollowingsub-sectionsdescribetradewithandbetweeneachofRussia’sfourmaincrabtradepartners.

South KoreaSouthKorea’sportcityofBusanisahubforRussiancrabdeliv-eriesandstop-overs,bothlegalandillegal.Indeed,theRussiangovernment’sofficialnewspaperperiodicallycoversinstancesofillegalcrabuncoveredbyauthoritiesinBusan(SeeBox7).RussianandSouthKoreantradedatafrom1999to2008indicateapattern—officialRussianexportsarefarbelowSouthKoreanimports.Yet,beginningin2009,thistrendreversedandRussia’sofficialexportstoSouthKoreafarexceededofficialKoreanimports.Figure7showsofficiallyreportedcustomstradedataforRussia’stradewithSouthKoreaandtheUnitedStates.Suchanuncharacteristictradediscrepancy(includingtheimmediateanddrasticreversalofreportedtradevolumes)warrantsfurtherdiscussion.

Inlate2008,Russiamandatedthatallcatchonboardavessel,includingcrab,mustbecheckedinaRussianportforcustomsclearanceanddocumentation.ThisincreasedthechancesthatRussia’sofficialexportstoSouthKoreabegantoreflecttherealquantitiesoflegalexportsthathadprobablyalwaysbeen

exportedfromRussiabuthadnotbeenregisteredofficiallybyRussianCustoms(notethatpriorto2009,RussianCustomsconsistentlyreportednegligibleexportstoallitstradepartners;seeFigure1).13

However,withRussia’snewportlandingrequirementtohaveexportdocumentationcheckedandfiled,Russia’sofficialexportdatadidnotincreasetoanapproximatelevelequaltothatofSouthKorea’sofficiallyreportedimportsfromRussia.Instead,Russia’spost-2008exportvolumesindicatethatRussiaregis-teredhighervolumesofcrabexportsthanSouthKoreareportedimporting.ThiscouldbeduetothefactthatU.S.importsofRussiancrablistoneofseveralAsianportsasintermediatestops,withBusan,SouthKoreaappearingofteninU.S.Customsdata.

RussianCustomslikelyregisterscrabasexportedtoSouthKorea,butSouthKoreaismerelyastop-offportforcrabthatisultimatelygoingtotheU.S.,andSouthKoreanCustomsdoesnotregisterthecrabasofficialimports.Meanwhile,U.S.Customsmightindicatethesamecrab(thatRussiasaysitexportstoSouthKorea)asU.S.importsfromRussia,notSouthKorea.Thepracticeofgoodsstoppingoffinvariousportsisnotillegal,yetthepracticeprovidesopportunityformixingorlaunderingillegalcrab.

13SinceRussia’sactualextentofexportsofcrabwerenotreportedbyRussianCustomsuntil2009,thisindicatesthatupuntilthentheRussiangovernmentalsohadforegonecollectinganyexporttaxesorfeesassociatedwithitslucrativecrabexports.

SECTION HIGHLIGHTSRussia’s main trade partners for crab—South Korea, Japan, United States and China—have each attempted to address the crab IUU problem in a unilateral or bilateral manner. The complexity of crab trade routes indicates that a multilateral effort would provide the most comprehensive approach for blocking illegal crab from entering the global market.

Entrance to Avacha Bay, Petropavlovsk-Kamchatskii, Russia.


Itisunknownwhethertheseintermediatestop-oversinSouthKoreaaresimplyfortransportvesselstore-fuel,andthecrabneverleavesthevessel,orwhetherthestop-oversinvolveprocessing,packaging,labelingorotherhandling,allofwhichcouldprovideopportunitiestoeithermix,mislabelorother-wiselaunderillegalcrabintoshipmentsoflegalcrabbeforetheproductcontinuesontoafinaldestination(SeeTradeComplexityforfurtherdiscussion).Box7highlightsanexam-plecoveredbyRussianmediaofmethodsusedtotransshipillegallyharvestedRussiancrabtoSouthKorea.

Toaddresstheillegalcrabtrade,SouthKoreaandRussiasignedthefirstbilateralintergovernmentalagreementdesignedtopreventillegalseafoodenteringforeignportsin2009.14 Unfortunately,accordingtoRussia’sTINROCenter(2014),thebilateralagreementhasprovenlargelyineffective(SeeBox8).Forexample,TINROnotedinits‘CrabForecast2014’:

“AtaRussian-Koreanconsultationontheimplemen-tationofthe“AgreementwithKorea”inthemiddleofNovember2012,theKoreansideinformedtheRussiandelegationthattheyfoundwarehousesinSouthKoreawithatleast6,000metrictonsofcrab[13.2millionlbs.],whichupuntilthattimehadnotbeencountedatallasimportsfromanycountryintheworld”(2014,110).

14Theagreementwassignedon22December2009(enteredintoeffect22June2010)andistitled“AgreementbetweentheGovernmentsoftheRussianFederationandtheRepublicofKoreaonthepartnershiptoeradicateillegal,undocumented,andunregulatedfishingoflivingmarineresources.”

Sources: Data – Global Trade Atlas (2014), Crab picture – © Hartmut Jungius / WWF – Canon

RUSSIA

CHINA

CANADA

JAPAN59,160 mt

(65% of Japan’s crab imports)

SOUTHKOREA

11,035 mt(23% of S. Korea’s crab imports)

3,831 mt(5% of China’s crab imports)

USA20,975 mt

(21% of USA’s crab imports)

PRIMARILY TRANS-SHIPPED THROUGH ASIA

FIGURE 62012 PRIMARY MARKETS FOR IMPORTS OF RUSSIAN LIVE AND FROZEN CRAB, LIVE WEIGHT EQUIVALENT METRIC TONS

BOX 7EXAMPLE OF ILLEGAL TRANSHIPMENT FROM RUSSIA TO SOUTH KOREA April 2013 - Russian authorities in the Magadan city court imposed fines on joint-stock company ‘Hayryuzovsky RKZ-1’ for illegally transshipping more than 50 mt (110,231 lbs.) of blue king crab from Russian waters to South Korea. The king crab was harvested by vessel Solomon, then transferred to another vessel Dezhnyovo, a refrigerated seiner-trawler, where the crab was then processed, flash cooked, frozen and finally transferred to the refrigerated tramper vessel Buzanski, which delivered the crab to Busan, South Korea. The fines imposed on the Russian company exceeded 2.5 million rubles ($ 74,000), but federal authorities only received 700,000 rubles ($ 20,000). Source: KamInform (2013)

RussianandKoreanauthoritiescontinuetodiscusstheproblemandpotentialsolutions(Fishnews2013a).InMarch2013,SouthKoreanrepresentativesobservedthatcrabwasstillillegallyimportedintoSouthKoreanportswithouttherequiredRussiandocumentation.YetSouthKoreaskirtedresponsi-bilitybysuggestingthatthereareindividualsandgroupsinRussiathatbenefitfromillegalcrabfishingandthataunified


2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013

60,000

40,000

30,000

20,000

10,000

50,000

0

Met

ric T

ons

of L

ive

and

Froz

en C

rab

(in li

ve w

eigh

t equ

ival

ent)

1999

USA Imports from Russia

Russia Exports to USA

South Korea Imports from Russia

Russia Exports to South Korea

USA Imports from South Korea

South Korea Exports to USA

systemthroughoutthePacificRimforallimportingcountrieswouldbetheonlyeffectivemethodtosolvethecrabpoach-ingproblem(seeRecommendations)(VietnamSeafoodTrade2013).15 BetweenAprilandMay2013,duringthefourthandfifthroundsofbilateralnegotiationsbetweenRussiaandSouthKorea(whichoccurredafterSouthKoreahadacknowledgedthatlargevolumesofillegalcrabwerestillbeinglandedintheirports)Russiatriedadifferenttactic—ithalvedthesizeofSouthKorea’squotatofishforpollockinRussia’sEEZandtiedanyincreasesinquotavolumetocertainconditionsSouthKoreawouldhavetomeetrelatedtoincreasingcompliancewithandenforcementofcrablandingsdocumentationrequirements(UndercurrentNews2013a;2013c).

JapanJapanistheleadingimporterofcrabfromRussia,bothliveandfrozen,likelyduetoJapanesedomesticdemandandthecloseproximityofJapan’snorthernportstoRussia’sEEZ,andpar-ticularlytotheRussianfishingsub-zones,whichcontaincrabstocks.16ComparingofficialRussianexportsofcrabtoJapantoofficialJapaneseimportsofcrabfromRussiaexposesamajortradediscrepancy(Figure8).RussiaregistersasmallamountofcrabasexportedtoJapan,yetJapan’simportsofRussiancrabareconsistentlymanytimeshigher.

Inlate2008,Russiainstitutedanewlandingrequirementthatshouldhavesignificantlyimproveditsreportingofcrabexportsandnarrowedthistradediscrepancy.However,between2009

15Forsharedstockslikecrab,otherregionshavesuccessfullyusedaharmonizedregionalapproach,e.g.,thespinylobsterinCentralAmerica,whichgoesbeyondharmonizedcodesandincludesuniformlegalrequirementsacrosscountries.

16Forinstance,theHokkaidoIslandportsofWakkanai,Otaru,andMombetsu.

BOX 8KING CRAB SMUGGLING CHANNEL (RUSSIA TO JAPAN TO SOUTH KOREA)BUSTED

November 2012 — In the port city of Busan, South Korean police suppressed a channel through which large quantities of Russian king crab were smuggled. South Korean authorities cited that they arrested criminals who controlled up to 90% of deliveries of Russian king crab to the South Korean market. The extensive police investigation involved three companies registered in Sierra Leone and one South Korean importer, with South Korean nationals as the heads of all of these companies. According to investigation documents, for the first seven months of 2012, the criminals imported more than 728 mt (1,604,965 lbs.) of red king crab, which enabled the criminal channel to reap 23.3 billion won ($21 million). According to South Korean law, offenders face prison sentences of up to five years and fines up to 100 million won ($92,000).

South Korean police determined that the crab had been illegally fished in Russian waters by foreign-flagged vessels that employed Russians on board, and then delivered the crab directly to Japan, where it was laundered with forged documents. The “legalized” crab was then officially imported by South Korea. Source: Rossiskaya Gazeta (2012)

FIGURE 7RUSSIAN EXPORTS AND KOREAN AND U.S. IMPORTS OF RUSSIAN CRAB, 1999–2013

Data source: Global Trade Atlas (2014)


and2013,Japan’simportsofRussiancrabwere,onaverage,15timeshigherthanRussia’sreportedcrabexportstoJapan. 17Whiletradediscrepanciesoccurfrequently(seeEstimationofCrabIUU),thisconsistentlylargediscrepancywarrantsfurtherinvestigation,becausetradediscrepanciesmaybeattributedtoillegalproductflow,forexample,ifcrabwaslaunderedeitherbeforeoruponenteringJapan.

Interestingly,Russia’s2008port-landingrequirementdoesnotappeartocorrespondtoanysubstantialchangeinJapanese-Russianbilateraltradedata,aswasseenintheSouthKorea-Russiantradedata.WhileRussia’sregisteredcrabexportstoJapandidincreasenine-foldfromapproximately600mt(1.3millionlbs.)in2008to5,800mt(12.8millionlbs.)in2009,itpalesincomparisontoJapan’sreportedimportsfromRussiaforthoseyears,whichin2008was70,000mt(154millionlbs.)andin2009was60,000mt(132millionlbs.).Betweenthosesametwoyears(2008-2009),Russia-SouthKoreatradedataindicatethatRussia’sreportedexportstoSouthKoreaincreasedfromapproximately1,000mtto22,000mt(2.2millionto48.5millionlbs.)–atwenty-two-foldincrease,whileSouthKorea’simportsonlymarginallyincreasedfrom13.7thousandmtto16.3thousandmt(from30millionto35.9millionlbs.).OnepossibleexplanationforwhyRussia’slate2008portlandingrequirementisseensodramaticallyinRussia’sexportstoSouthKorea,butnotinRussia’sexportstoJapan,couldbethatmostofJapan’simportsofcrabfromRussiaare,infact,illegallysourcedfromRussianwatersandweredeliveredstraighttoJapaneseportswithoutRussianauthorization.18

17Themostrecentreportedyearintradedatastatistics,2013,indicatedthatJapan’scrabimportswere20timeshigherthanRussia’sexportsofcrabtoJapan.

18ThisisnottosaythatallofRussia’sexportstoSouthKoreawerelegal.Asmediareports(Boxes7and8)indicate,therearehighvolumesofillegallysourcedRussiancrablandinginSouthKorea,too.

2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013

120,000

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0

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Japan Imports from Russia

Russia Exports to Japan

In2012,JapanandRussiasignedabilateralagreementonIUU. 19 ThisagreementwasexclusivelydirectedtowardthepreventionofillegalharvestingandtradeofillegalRussiancrabintoJapan(TINRO2014).Althoughsignedin2012,theagreementdidnotenterintoforceuntilApril2014.Becausetwoyearspassedbetweenthesigningandimplementationoftheagreement,withmanypostponedimplementationstartdates,severalU.S.andRussiannewssourcesreportedthatillegalcrabdeliveriestoJapanwereheightenedbetween2012and2014,andthatillegalcrabflowwouldbegintoshifttoothercountrieswithlessstrin-gentimportrequirementsasaresultofimpendingJapaneseenforcement(RIANews2013a;UndercurrentNews2014a;Stopcrabmafia2014).20Inaddition,sinceApril2014,therehavebeenreportsofincreasedinstancesofRussianvesselspoachingcrabinJapan’sEEZ,whichindicatesthatRussian“vesselsareapparentlytryingtoshiftfishinggroundsforillegalcatchintoJapaneseEEZinanapparentbidtocircumventthereinforcedsurveillancebytheRussianborderpolice”(SeafoodNews2014;seealsoLegalInformationService2014).

InSeptember2014,aspartoftheimplementationoftheirbilateralagreementandtoharmonizetheirimportandexportprocedures,RussiaandJapanagreeduponmandatingthatlegalitycertificatesaccompanylivecrabimportsintoJapaneseports.CertificatesoflegalitywillbemandatedbeginningDecember10,2014(Fishkamchatka2014c).DespitethefactthattheextenttowhichvariousstepstakenbyRussiaandJapantoimplementtheirbilateralagreementcannotbeevalu-atedfully,theprogressthatRussiaandJapanhavemadesinceApril2014indicatesthewillingnessofbothgovernmentstotackletheillegalcrabtradebetweenthetwocountries.

19InSeptember2012,duringtheAsia-PacificEconomicCooperation(APEC)SummitinVladivostok,RussiaandJapansignedthe“AgreementbetweentheGovernmentoftheRussianFederationandtheGovernmentofJapanontheProtection,EfficientUse,andManagementofLivingResourcesintheNorthEastpartofthePacificOceanandthePreventionofIllegalTradeofLivingResources.”

20Thisiscalled“displacement”andisacommonphenomenonwhenenforcementincreasesinoneplaceandremainsweakelsewhere.

FIGURE 8RUSSIAN EXPORTS AND JAPANESE IMPORTS OF RUSSIAN CRAB, 1999-2013

Data Source: Global Trade Atlas (2014)


United StatesWhileRussiancrabdirectlycompeteswithAlaskancrabontheworldmarketandintheUnitedStates,legalRussiancrabhelpsmaintainthesupplyofcrabtotheglobalmarket(Figure9).In2012,onefifthoftheUnitedStates’importsofcrabcamefromRussia,yetRussiacustomsdataindicatenoexportstotheU.S.(Figure7).Oneexplanationofthistradediscrepancyisdescribedunderthe‘SouthKorea’headingofthissection:RussianCustomsmightregistercrabasexportstoSouthKorea,butSouthKoreaisratherastop-offportforcrabthatisultimatelygoingtotheU.S.Thistypeoftradeissometimesreferredtoastriangulartrade,whichmeansthatproductsmaystop-offatoneormoreintermediateportsbeforereachingtheirfinaldestination.

Whiletriangulartradeisalegaltradepractice(withnorequiredharmonizationofcustomsrecordsbetweenthevar-iouscountries),itcanprovideopportunitiesforthemixingoflegalandillegalproductsandlaunderingofillegalproducts.Furthermore,anotherplausibleexplanationforsomeofthe

tradediscrepancyisthatpartofU.S.importedRussiancrabisillegal(see‘TradeComplexity’forfurtherdiscussion).

IfillegalRussiancrabenterstheU.S.market,itreducesthepriceofcrabintheUnitedStates,whichhurtstheAlaskacrabindustry(APRN2014;Carlton2013;HermannandGreenberg2006).AccordingtotheAlaskaBeringSeaCrabbers(2014),anindustryassociationofcrabharvesters,Alaskacrabbershavelostanestimated$600millionsince2000duetothecompe-titionfromillegalcrabontheglobalandAmericanmarkets.WhiletherearenewsarticlesaboutAmericanswhomightcol-ludetoimportillegalRussiancrabintotheUnitedStates(Box9),U.S.consumersofkingandsnowcrabarelikelyunaware

theymightbepurchasingillegalcrabandunwittinglycontribut-ingtoperpetuatingtheseillegalactivities.

ToaddresstheproblemofillegalRussiancrab,theRussianandUnitedStatesgovernmentshaveconductedofficialmeetingsforthelastseveralyearsinordertodevelopaU.S.-RussianbilateralagreementforIUU,whichwouldspecificallyaddresscrabaswellasotherseafood.Whilenobilateralagree-menthasbeensignedbetweenthetwocountriestoaddressIUU,newscoverageindicatesthatdiscussionsperiodicallytakeplace(mostrecentlyinSeptember2014inVladivostok,Russia)andtheagreementisinthefinalstagesofdevelop-ment(UndercurrentNews2013b;Fishnews2013b;VNIRO2012;NOAA2011a).

Despitethelackofaspecificbilateralagreementbetweenthetwocountries,in2013,RussiaandtheU.S.signedaJointStatementthatisnotlegallybindingbutdoesallowforinformationshar-ingregardingthebiologicalresourcesoftheBeringSeamoregenerally(NOAA2013).Additionally,theU.S.Departmentof

Commerce,U.S.CoastGuard,U.S.DepartmentofJustice,DepartmentofHomelandSecurity,U.S.DepartmentofStateandU.S.CustomsandBorderProtectionhaveworkedcloselywiththeRussianCoastGuardandotherRussianenforcementofficialstohelpsuccessfullyprosecutecasesofillegalcrabimportsundertheU.S.LaceyAct(SeeBox2)(NOAA2011b).Therefore,theU.S.andRussiahavesuccessfullycollaboratedinthepastonspecificinvestigationsandenforcementcases.WhiletheLaceyActhasresultedinsomesignificantconvictionsforimportsofillegallycaughtseafood,thefactisthatprosecutorsrelyonoutsideinformationtoinitiateinvestigations,prosecutionsareresource-intensiveandborderinspectionofimportsareextremelylimited.21 22

Unfortunately,overalldiplomaticrelationsbetweentheU.S.andRussiahaverecentlydeteri-oratedsuchthattheU.S.CoastGuard(abranchoftheU.S.military)isnotallowedtomeetwiththeirRussiancounterparts.ThisdiplomaticbarriercouldbeaseriousdetrimenttojointIUUenforcementcooperation.Fortunately,otherU.S.agenciesarecurrentlynotbarredfromcommunicatingormeetingwith

21U.S.CustomsandBorderPatrolofficialsinspectlessthan2%ofallimportsofseafoodandtheseinspectionsfocusonspeciesidentificationandfoodsafety,notonidentifyingillegallycaughtfish.

22Asnotedearlier,the2011U.S.LaceyActcaseagainstHarborSeafood,Inc.forimporting$2.75millionworthofRussiancrabthatwassuspectedtobeillegalintotheUnitedStatesrepresentedjust1.3%oftheU.S.’stotalcrabimportsfromRussiain2011.

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FIGURE 9RED AND BLUE KING CRAB HARVEST, U.S. AND RUSSIA, 1970–1999

Source: Newell (2004, 53)


Russiancolleagues,anddiscussionsofthebilateralcrabIUUagreementhavecontinuedtoprogress.

ChinaChinaplaysamajorroleforother(non-crab)seafoodimportsfromRussia(e.g.,whitefish,salmon)andisheavilyinvolvedinre-processingandre-exportingmanyofRussia’smarinespecies(Clarke2009).InDecember2012,RussiaandChinasignedabilateralagreementtocooperateinpreventing,deterringandeliminatingIUUfishingandtrade(Fishnews2012;VietnamAssociation2013).

However,withrespecttocrab,onlyfivepercentofChina’scrabimportscomedirectlyfromRussia(3,800mtor8.4millionlbs.,withavalueof$14millionin2012)andthereisnomajortradediscrepancyoranecdotalevidencethatChinaplaysabig-gerrolethanofficialcustomsdataindicate.TheextenttowhichillegalRussiancrabisshippedtoChina,eitherviadirecttrade,orviare-exportsandtransshipmentsisnotdiscernablefromcurrentlyavailabletradeinformation.

BOX 9A HIGH PROFILE INSTANCE OF ALLEGED ILLEGAL RUSSIAN CRAB IMPORTATION TO THE U.S.

U.S. citizen and Bellevue, Washington resident Arkadi Gontmakher emigrated from Ukraine and in 1999 founded a U.S.-based import business called “Global Fishing” that became one of the top importers of Russian crab in the early 2000s. According to the Seattle Times, “in 2002, Gontmakher was involved in an extended legal battle over more than 144,000 lbs. [ 65 mt] of Russian crab, seized by National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) fishery agents in Blaine, because it allegedly had been caught and transported in violation of Russian law” (Seattle Times 2011a). Nevertheless, Gontmakher’s company became the largest importer of Russian king crab into the U.S. and “sold $147 million in king crab to American consumers” in one year (Seattle Times 2011c). In 2006, Global Fishing’s imports of Russian king crab exceeded U.S. harvest of king crab in Alaska.

The Seattle Times reported that Gontmakher became involved in another “high-profile criminal case that once reached from Moscow to Seattle, where the U.S. Attorney’s Office sought to gather evidence to help the Russian prosecution and in 2008 also launched its own grand-jury investigation of Gontmakher’s company.” (Seattle Times 2011a).

In 2007, while on a business trip in Russia, Gontmakher was detained by authorities, incarcerated for more than three years, and charged with “conspiring with a Russian partner to import some 50 million pounds [22.7 thousand mt] of illegally caught crab, worth about $200 million, which was offloaded in South Korea and then shipped to the United States” (Seattle Times 2011a). Gontmakher noted “I was buying all my crab from a seafood warehouse in South Korea—after the Russians caught it, pre-processed it and delivered it there, with proper customs declarations, acceptance certificates and other papers proving the origin and legality of the product. I didn’t have any crab fishing ships, I was only a wholesale buyer.” (CNN 2010).

In December 2010, a 12-person jury in Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula unanimously acquitted Gontmakher. Less than one week later “he was charged with an almost identical set of criminal violations,” which, according to a Russian senior investigator, included “(laundering the profits from selling) crab products in 2006-2007 fished in Russia’s exclusive economic zone, without having proper permission.” (CNN 2010).

Gontmakher had health problems and due to this as well as petitions the Russian government received from U.S. Congressional officials, Russia agreed to release Gontmakher so that he could seek medical treatment in Moscow (Seattle Times 2011c). Upon release, he disregarded Russian orders to remain in Russia and escaped to the U.S. in mid-February 2011. The Seattle Times noted that while “the businessman maintained his innocence, Gontmakher also was secretly under criminal investigation by U.S. authorities, who sought to assist Russian prosecutors.” (2011c).

For many Russians, Gontmakher remains in the public eye as he has subsequently sued Russian courts demanding financial compensation for the money he and his company lost as a result of his imprisonment in Russia. This issue remains sensitive in Russia, as the United States is seen as being complacent in its fight against illegal Russian crab entering the U.S. market. Sources: Seattle Times (2011a; 2011c), CNN (2010)

WithrespecttothepossibilitythatChinaplaysaroleinlaunderingRussiancrabintotheUnitedStatesmarket(eitherviadirectortriangulartrade),theUnitedStatesdoesimportsubstantialquantitiesofcrabfromChina($141millionworthofcrabin2012),mostofwhichwasprocessedcrabmeat.Ofthe$141millionworthofU.S.crabimportsfromChinain2012,$1millionwaskingcrab(almostallasfrozencrabsections)and$25.5millionwassnowcrab(one-quarterofthatwasfrozencrabsections,whiletherestwasprocessedandcanned).23 Inthesameyear,China’smainsuppliersoffrozencrabwereCanada(52%),UnitedStates(25%),Russia(7%),SouthKorea(5%),Chile(2%),andArgentina(1%);therefore,thecatchloca-tionofthecrabthattheU.S.importsfromChinaisunclear.24

23Theremainder(andmajority)oftheU.S.’s$141millioncrabimportsfromChinain2012consistedoffrozenandprocessedcrabwhosespeciesarelistedwithinHSCodesaseitherChineseswimmingcrab,anycrabwithintheCallinectes genus,ortotallyunspecified.

24TheUnitedStatesexportslargevolumesofAlaska-caughtsnowcrab($103millionworthin2012)andtoalesserextentkingcrabtoChina.ThedegreetowhichChinaisre-exportingAlaskacrabormixingitwithothercrabisalsounclear.



Trade ComplexitySECTION HIGHLIGHTSTriangular trade, re-processing, and re-export are legal trade practices, yet can lead to supply chain murkiness and provide opportunity for mixing illegal and legal products or other seafood laundering mechanisms.

Triangular Trade – Crab Stop-off in Asian Ports before Coming to the U.S.Theinternationaltradeofcrab,liketheinternationaltradeofanyprimarycommodity,ispartofalargersystemofglobaltradeandshippingandisthussubjecttothesametradenormsandpracticesasothertradedgoods.Triangulartradeoratraderoutewheregoodsareshippedthroughoneormorecountriesenroutetotheirfinaldestinationisacommonglobaltradepractice.Inthecaseoftriangularlytradedcrab,theseafoodproductmightremainonboardavesselwhichsimplystopsoffinafreetradeandeconomiczoneinaforeignport,oritmaybeoffloaded,con-solidated,andthenre-loadedontoadifferentvesselthatbringstheproducttoitsfinaldestination.Triangulartradeappearstobealegaltradedynamicthatcreatesmurkinessinaproduct’ssup-plychain.Thisopaquenesscanbecompoundedbymismatchedcustomsdata,aseachtradepartnercouldaccountfortradethroughthisthirdcountrydifferently.

Forinstance,takethespecificexamplementionedinthepre-vioussectiononRussia-SouthKorea,andRussia-U.S.tradedatadiscrepancies.Russia’scrabtradewiththeUnitedStatesviaSouthKoreaillustratestriangulartradewell.Indeed,RussiaregisterednoexportsofcrabtotheUnitedStatesin2012.Atthesametime,theUnitedStatesregistered21%ofitstotalcrabimportsasRussianorigininthesameyear.Atleastpartofthistradediscrepancyislikelyduetotriangulartrade.

AccordingtoRussianCustoms,in2012,frozenandlivecrabexportsweredestinedforSouthKorea(84.5%),Japan(7.5%),andChina(0.4%).25Russia’sTINROCenter(2014,98-100)explainsRussia’simprecisecustomsdataaccountingaswellaswhybilateraltradediscrepanciesexistandwhytheofficialdoc-umentedtradepartnerasregisteredbyRussianCustomsmightalsobeincorrect:

TheCountryofExportfor[Russian]FederalCustomsStatisticscountsthecountrythatisindicatedonthe‘CustomsCargoDeclaration.’Inreality,productshavingpassedthroughCustomsinRussiamaybesentnottothecountrythatwasindicatedbytheCustomsCargodec-laration,buttoadifferentcountry.Forexample,intheCustomsCargoDeclarationitindicatesthatthedestina-tioncountryforexportsisSouthKorea.ButtheproductsmaybesentdirectlytoJapan(ortoadifferentcountry).Moreover,productsmaybedeliveredtoSouthKoreaincompliancewiththeCustomsCargoDeclaration.Butthecargothentransitsto,forinstance,theU.S.A.orJapan.Inthiscase,productswouldn’tbecountedinthestatisticalimportsofSouthKorea,butinsteadwouldbecountedasimportsfromRussiainthatcountry,wheretheproce-duresofimportareperformed(inthiscase,eitherU.S.A.orJapan).

25AccordingtoRussianCustoms,in2012,Russia’sonlyotherremainingliveandfrozencrabexportswentexclusivelytotheNetherlands(7.2%)andUnitedKingdom(0.5%)andnegligiblequantitiesoflivecrabwenttoItalyandFrance.

Crab harvesting vessel on the rough and icy Bering Sea.


ThisisparticularlyproblematicforsupplychaintraceabilitybecausevesselswhosefinaldestinationistheU.S.oftenlistAsianports,suchasWakkanai,JapanandBusan,SouthKorea,asintermediateportsintheirU.S.customsdeclarations.26 Manyoftheseportsarenotoriousfortheircomplicityandcontributiontothelaundering,storageandshipmentofillegalcrabintotheglobalsupplychain.Eachnodeofthesupplychaincouldbeanopportunitytolaundercrab,withtheprimaryques-tionablenodesforU.S.importsofRussiancrabbeingSouthKoreaandJapan.OnceRussianillegalcrabislaunderedintothelegalsupplychainofcrab,itwouldappearinofficialtradestatistics;however,importsmaynotberegisteredtothecor-recttradepartner.Figure10indicatestheregisteredoriginofaggregatedliveandfrozencrabimportsbyChina,SouthKorea,JapanandtheUnitedStatesin2012.

Triangulartradeaddscomplexitytotraderoutes,yetitcanbeentirelylegal.Producttraceabilitysystemscouldservetomakethiscomplexitytransparenttotraders,buyers,governmentsandconsumers(seeRecommendations).

26WWFhasasubsetoffine-scaleUnitedStatesCustomscrabimporttradedatafortheyears2007-2013.TheseCustomsrecordsincludeU.S.companies’importsofRussiancrabandindicatethatSouthKoreanandJapaneseportsarecommonlylistedas‘PortsofDeparture,’eventhoughthecommodityitselfislistedunderthecommoditydescriptionas‘Russiancrab.’

.2%

4.7% 3.3%

21.6%

70.2%

.4%

23%

53%

23.6%

.2%.2%

2.6%1.2%

18.7%

64.7%

12.8% 4.9%

21.5%

73.2%

CHINATotal Imports

81,633 mt

Japan

China

USA

South Korea

Other

Russia

SOUTH KOREATotal Imports

47,327 mt

JAPANTotal Imports

91,470 mt

USATotal Imports

97,951 mt

Re-processing and Re-exportAcommonpracticeintheglobaltradeofprimarycommoditiesistoprocessandthussubstantiallyalteranoriginalproduct(forexample,processfrozencrabintocannedcrab)andthenre-exportthatproductinitsconvertedform.Thissecondaryprocessing,wheretheproductisalteredandthenre-exported,canalsocontributetothemurkinessofthesupplychain.Italsoprovidestheopportunitytomixlegalandillegalcrab,orre-label,re-packageorotherwiselaunderillegalcrabtomakeitappearlegal.ForU.S.imports,re-processingandre-exportalsoservetoobfuscatethecountryofcatchbecauseU.S.CountryofOriginLabelingrulesdonotrequirethisinformationforpro-cessedseafood.

Whilere-exportsarecommonpracticeintheglobalsys-temofinternationaltrade,itisuncleartowhatextentthesemulti-countryvaluechainsfacilitatetheentryofillegalproductintointernationalcommerce.Certainlythesepracticesandthereportingdiscrepanciesandsupplychainmurkinessthattheycreatemakesupplychaintraceabilityandotheranti-IUUinitiativesdifficulttoimplementandenforce.Whatisknownisthatillegalcrabentersthesupplychainbutlegalandcommontradepracticesmakethedetectionofillegallyharvestedprod-uctsextremelydifficult.However,comparisonsofofficialtradedatafromeachcountrycanbeusedtohelpdecipherwherecrablaunderingmaybetakingplace.

FIGURE 10PACIFIC RIM CRAB IMPORTS BY CHINA, SOUTH KOREA, JAPAN AND THE U.S. IN 2012

Data Source: Global Trade Atlas (2014)



Estimation of Crab IUU

SECTION HIGHLIGHTSDuring the past decade, WWF estimates illegal crab harvest ranged from approximately 1.7 to 4 times the legal harvest limit. This is seen in the trade data, and WWF’s estimates are on par with other illegal crab harvest estimates. After analyzing trade data for king crab specifically, WWF estimates that U.S. and Japanese imports of Russian king crab were approximately double the legal Russian TAC in 2010-2012.

Method for Estimating IUU and Data LimitationsThemethodologywidelyusedtodetermineIUUestimatesistoidentifythedifferencesinreceivingcountries’officialcustomsimportvolumesandcomparethattoofficialdatafromthecountryofexport(TAC,harvest/catch/landingdataorexportdata)(Willock2004).Onemustalsotakeintoaccountdomesticconsumption,butinthiscase,ithasbeendocumentedthatthedomesticconsumptionofcrabislowwhichmeansthatRussiaexportsmostofitscrabharvest(TINRO2014).ThisenabledWWFtocomparecrabimportdatatoofficialharvestamountsandRussianexportfigures.

EstimatesofIUUactivitytypicallyinvolvebilateralcoun-try-to-countrytradedata.Forreasonsdemonstratedabove,however,relatedtotheinaccuraciesandcomplexitiesoftraderoutesintheAsiaPacificRegion,country-to-countrycompar-isonsoftradedataarenotreflectiveofthetruemultinationaltraderoutesforcrab.Forthisanalysis,aggregatedtradedatafromRussia’smaincrabtradepartnerswereused.27 Therefore,importdatawasusedfromthefollowingfourcountries:Japan,SouthKorea,ChinaandtheUnitedStates.LiveandfrozencrabimportsfromRussiawereaggregatedand

27 EventhoughRussiadoesregistersomefrozencrabexportstotheUnitedKingdom(0.5%ofRussia’stotalliveweightequivalentmetrictonweightforfrozenandlivecrab),andminisculelivecrabexportstoFranceandItaly,thesemarketsarenotconsideredRussia’sprimarytradepartners.

thencomparedtoRussia’sTACandofficiallyreported(legal)harvest/catchdataforallcrabspecies.28

ThedifferencebetweenRussia’scrabcatch(harvest)orexportquantitiesandthecollectiveimportsofreceivingcountriescannotbeentirelylabelledasillegalproduct.Allinternationaltradestatisticscontaindiscrepancies.Withrespecttobilateraltrade,onecountry’sreportedexportsarerarelyidenticaltoitstradingpartner’sreportedimportsofthatproduct.Somefactorsthatleadtotradediscrepanciesarenormal(legal)andhavejustifiableexplanations,whileothersareabnormalandcanbethemanifestationofillegal,unreportedorunregulatedharvestandtrade.Thereappearstobelittleresearchintotheunderly-ingcausesofinternationaltradediscrepanciesintheseafoodsector,andthereisanabsenceofwhatmightbeconsidereda‘normal’tradediscrepancy,orofwaystoaccountforfactorsotherthanillegalitythatcontributetotradediscrepancies.29 Giventhislackofunderstanding,WWF’sestimateofillegalcrabvolumesreflectstotalobservedtradediscrepanciesandmaybesomewhatoverestimated.

28Inordertosumfrozenandlivecrabimports,aconversionratiowasusedthatassumesthefrozenweightis,onaverageforallcrabspecies,60%oftheliveweight.Thisisthesameconversionratioforlive(round)weightequivalentforcrabthatisusedbyTINRO.

29Thisnecessary,butmissing,depthofunderstandingoftheinternationaltradeofseafoodisanobviousrecommendationforfurtherresearchandanoversightofcurrentIUUseafoodresearchat-large.Inthisregard,thereismuchtobegainedbylookingattheproblemsandresearchrelatedtotheinternationaltradeinotherprimarycommoditysectors.Forexample,EastinandPerez-Garcia(2003)soughttobetterunderstandtradediscrepanciesinforestproductsandmightbeusedasafoundationinparallelresearchforinterpretingnormalandabnormalreasonsfordiscrepanciesinseafoodtradedata.

Frozen, whole red king crab at market.


TherearevarioussourcesofTAC30,production(legalorofficialharvest/catch)31andexportdata32forRussiancrabwithnosinglesourcebeingcomprehensiveenoughtosupplyallthreesetsofdata.Ideally,forpurposesofanalysis,theTAClevels,productionlevelsandlevelsoftradewouldbereportedinawaythatcouldallowforcomparison.Thefollowingvariablesaffecttheresolution(specificity)ofdata:

a) TACorharvestareareportedbyincongruousregions(forinstance,UnitedNationalFoodandAgriculturalOrganization[UNFAO]zonesvs.Russia’sharvestzonejurisdictions).

b) Speciesspecificitybetweendatasets(forinstance,recordsarekeptbygenusandspeciesforTAC,butRussia’sharvestdataareaggregatedwhereastradedatauseHarmonizedSystem(HS)codesthataredifferentforeachcountry).

c) Incompletedocumentationoftradepartnerchain(i.e.acountry’sCustomsdepartmentregisterstheproductbeingexportedtoonecountry,whiletheCustomsdepartmentoftheactualimportingcountryregisterstheproductasimportsfromadifferentcountry).

d) PoorHSCodespecificityintradedata(globalstandardsrequireidenticalnomenclaturethroughthefirstsixdigitsofanHScode.Countriesarerequiredtoassigntwomoredigits[notrequiredtobegloballystandardized],foratotalofeightdigitsatthetariff-ratelinelevel.Countriescanelecttoassigntwomoredigits[foratotaloftendigits]ifitiswarranted).SeetheAppendixforadetailedevaluationofcrab-specificHScodesusedbyRussiaanditsprimarycrabtradepartners.

Forthisanalysis,datawerecompiledforallRussiancommer-cialcrabspeciesforseveralreasons.First,WWFwasonlyabletoobtainRussiancatchdatathathadbeenaggregatedtoallcrab(i.e.notspeciesspecific).Second,withregardtotrade

30RussianTACdata(includingadjustments)wascompiledfromTINRO(2014)andRussianFederalFisheryAgency–TAC(2014).

31Russianofficialharvest/catchdatawerecompiledfromRussianFederalFisheryAgency–HarvestData(2014).

32TradedatawerecompiledfromGlobalTradeAtlas(2014).

data,notallimportingcountriesspecifymorethanthesix-digitHScode.WithouttheutilizationofthetotalavailabletendigitsofanHScode,speciesspecificitycannotbediscerned.Third,thereisadiscrepancyinthecommonandscientificnamesofcrabspeciesusedbyeachcountry.Finally,TINROidentifiesthatillegalfishingispresentinallofRussia’scommerciallyvaluablecrabfisheries,includingbairdi,opilio,andJapanesehaircrab(TINRO2014;2013;2011).

Estimation of Illegal Crab Amounts (All Crab Species)ThisWWFreportprovidesanestimateofpotentialRussiancrabIUUbasedonanalysisoftradedatadiscrepanciesofselectreportingcountries’importsofRussiancrabcomparedtoRussia’stotalallowablecatch(TAC)—identifiedbyWWF(1),andselectreportingcountries’importsofRussiancrabcom-paredtoRussia’sofficialharvestcatchofcrab—identifiedbyWWF(2)(Table3).

Table3liststhenumberoftimescrabmayhavebeenharvestedbeyondtheTACorlegalcatchamount.In2013,reportedRussiancrabimportsbySouthKorea,Japan,China,andtheUnitedStatesexceededRussia’sTACby38percent,andexceededRussia’sofficiallyreportedlegalcrabharvestby69percent.

Theseoverages(i.e.,thenumberoftimesaggregatedimportdataexceedRussia’sdata)canthenbecomparedtoothersources’estimatesoftradediscrepanciesregardingRussiancraboverharvestandpotentialIUU.TheutilityofcomparingaggregatedimportstobothofRussia’sdomesticcrabindus-tryindicatorsistoestablishaplausiblerangeofillegalcrabvolumes.Figure11showstheaboveWWFestimatesforcraboverexploitationarewithintherangeofothersources’estimatesforRussianillegalcrabcatch.

TABLE 3RATIO OF AGGREGATE IMPORTS BY JAPAN, UNITED STATES, CHINA, AND SOUTH KOREA TO RUSSIA’S TAC (1) & HARVEST (2)

Data Sources: TINRO (2014; 2013; 2011), Russian Federal Fishery Agency –TAC (2014), Russian Federal Fishery Agency –Harvest Data (2014), Global Trade Atlas (2014)

2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013

Imports / TAC - WWF (1) 1.86 1.99 1.97 2.11 2.40 2.63 2.45 2.38 1.86 1.96 1.64 1.66 1.93 1.38

Imports / Harvest - WWF (2) 2.07 2.46 2.63 3.21 4.01 4.26 4.35 3.83 3.10 3.27 2.14 1.97 2.15 1.69


FIGURE 11VARIOUS ESTIMATES OF DISCREPANCIES OF IMPORTS OF RUSSIAN CRAB VS. RUSSIAN TAC/HARVEST, 2000-2013

Estimation of Illegal King Crab (Four Species) InordertoestablishanestimateforRussiankingcrabover-harvest,onlyasubsetofthetradedatacouldbeusedwithoutaggregatingHScodesfromvariouscountries.OnlyJapanandtheUnitedStateshaverelativelywell-definedHScodesbeyondthesix-digitlevel.33

However,comparingJapanandU.S.importstatisticsfor‘kingcrab’isstillproblematic;whiletwooutofthethreespecies(redkingcrabandbluekingcrab)arebothcontainedwithineachcountry’sHScode,eachcountry’sclassificationofthisparticu-larHScodealsocontainsoneadditionalspeciesofcrabthatisnotcontainedintheother’sclassification.34

33WhileSouthKoreadoeshavea‘kingcrab’eight-digitHScodeclassificationforitsfrozencrab(03061420),itdoesnothaveoneforlivecrab,anditisevidentlookingattradedatathattherearekingcrabthatlikelyendupinthe‘othercrab’HScodeclassification,thusmakingcomparativeanalysiswithSouthKoreadifficult. 34Specifically,attheeight-digitlevelJapan’sHSCodeclassification03061401(frozen)and03062411(live)isdesignatedas‘kingcrab’(Paralithodesspp.)andthuscontainsthethreespeciesofcrabthatarewithintheParalithodesgenus.Meanwhile,theUnitedStates,attheten-digitlevelofHSCodeclassification,reportsfrozenkingcrab(0306144010)anddoesnotspecifyagenus.IntheUnitedStates,threespeciesaremostoftenclassifiedunder‘kingcrab’:twointheParalithodesgenus(redandblueking),andoneintheLithodesgenus(goldenking),soweassumethatthesethreespeciesarerecordedintheU.S.’sten-digitHScode0306144010.

Data Sources: TINRO (2014), McDowell Group (2012), Inter-Cooperative Exchange (2011)

ComparingJapaneseandUnitedStates’importsofthesesubsetsof‘kingcrab’totheaggregatedRussianTAClevelfortheidenticalsubsetsofspeciesallowsforconsistentanaly-sis.35Table4highlightsthenumberoftimeseachcountryhasimportedthe‘kingcrab’subsetinexcessofRussianlegalTACquantities.ItisimportanttorememberthateachanalysisisseparatefromtheotherandconsidersRussia’stotalTACforthespeciesindicated.TheanalysisassumesthatRussiaisonlyexportingcrabtoonecountry,eitherJapanortheUnitedStates,butnotbothtogether.ThenumbersinTable4cannotnecessarilybeaddedtogether,butwhenconsideredtogetherincontext,thesenumbersindicatethatimportsof“kingcrab”byJapanandtheU.S.farexceedtheRussianTAC.

TheexcesslevelofimportspresumesthatJapanistheonlyimporterofthoseselectspecies,whichinpracticeisnotthecasegiventhattheUnitedStatesalsoimportstwooutofthethreespeciesinhighquantities.Forexample,in2012,JapanimportedtwicethelegalTAClevelofred,blueandspinybrowncrabfromRussia,andinthesameyear,theUnitedStatesimported88%ofallofRussia’sTACforred,blueandgoldenkingcrab.Althoughthesetwonumbers(2.07and0.88)cannotbeaddedtogether,thesenumbersshowthatkingcrabislikelyexploitedbetweentwoandthreetimestheTACin2012.

35TACisusedforthisanalysisbecausenospecies-levelharvest/catchdatacouldbeobtained.

2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013

4.00

3.00

2.50

2.00

1.50

3.50

1.0

WWF (2)

WWF (1)

TINRO 2011 (2)

TINRO 2011 (1)

McDowellGroup (1)

TINRO 2014 (2)

Inter-CooperativeExchange (ICE)* (1)

(1): Imports / TAC(2): Imports / Reported Harvest*ICE estimate for red, blue, and goldencrab only, not all crab species

4.50

5.00

Rus

sian

Cra

b IU

U E

stim

ates

– R

atio

of I

mpo

rts

toR

ussi

an O

ffici

al T

AC

(1) o

r Har

vest

/Cat

ch (2

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TABLE 4RUSSIA-JAPAN (TOP) AND RUSSIA-U.S. (BOTTOM) BILATERAL COMPARISON OF OFFICIAL IMPORT DATA COMPARED TO RUSSIAN TAC

Sources: Russian Federal Fishery Agency – TAC (2014), Russian Federal Fishery Agency – Harvest Data (2014), TINRO (2014), Global Trade Atlas (2014)

2010 2011 2012

Live weight equivalent metric tons of Japan's Imports of Paralithodes spp. (3 species: red, blue and spiny brown) / Russian TAC for those 3 species

1.08 1.3 2.07

Live weight equivalent metric tons of USA's Imports of Paralithodes spp. (3 species: red, blue and golden) / Russian TAC for those 3 species

1.15 1.02 0.88


Crab harvesting vessel on the Bering Sea.



Conservation Impacts of Crab Overexploitation

SECTION HIGHLIGHTSCrab in the Russian Far East is at risk of collapse due to the overharvest caused by illegal fishing. Recently, the red king crab fishery in West Kamchatka was closed for five years to allow for rebuilding. Continued illegal overharvest could result in the severe decline of crab stocks in the Russian Far East.

Crab Management OverviewRussianFarEastcrabstocksareassessedthroughscien-tifictrawlsurveys(typicallyperformedannually),andstockassessmentmodelsfromregionalresearchinstitutes(includingTINRO)combinedwithfisherydependent(catch)datatheTACsaresetforeachsub-zone.Historically,Russia’sTACset-tingprocessleftincentiveforfisheriesscientiststotakebribesandthustheTAClevelswerenotnecessarilybasedonscience(Thorsteinson2011;Allison2002).

Currently,theTACsettingprocessresultsfromascientificestimationofamaximumsustainedyieldbasedoncrabstocks’dimensionalstructures,calculatedtotalbiomassandnumbersoffemales,malesandrecruits(juveniles).Thefishingmortal-ityrate(therateatwhichcrabareremovedfromthestockbyharvesting)issetatorbelow20%instablepopulations,andisreducedto10%inrebuildingpopulations.Incalculatingharvestlimits,illegalharvestsaretakenintoaccount,yetnoadditionalinformationisavailableregardinghowestimationsofillegalharvestaremadeoraretakenintoaccount(Korostelev2014).

Sincethebreak-upoftheSovietUnionin1991,theRussiangovernmenthasrepeatedlymodifiedtheallocationprocesses.Intheearly2000s,Russiabegangrantingquotas(sharesofthetotalTAC,byspecies)toindividualcompaniesforaperiodoffiveyearsbasedoneachcompany’spriorthreeyearsofcatchvolumes(Thorsteinson2011).Companiesharvestthisquotausingvesselsthatareeithercompany-ownedorleased.Thedurationofquotashareswasalteredin2008totenyears.Themostrecentten-yearquotaallocation,2009-2018,specifieswhichcompanieshavefishingquotasbyspeciesandfishingsub-zone(RussianFederalFisheryAgency2008).

OverharvestThemostdirectnegativebiologicalimpactoftheillegalcrabfisheryinRussiaisoverfishing.Basedontradedata,WWFestimatesthattheillegalcrabharvestamounthasbeenatleastdouble,insomeyearsquadruple,thelegalharvestamount.Dependingontheyear,redkingcrabisharvestedataratebetweenonetoalmostthreetimesovertheTAC;snowcrab(opilioandbairdi)issimilarlyoverharvested(TINRO2014).Long-termoverharvestcanbeseeninthetradedataforthepastdecade(seeFigure1).

Excessiveremovalofmalecrabcanskewthesexratio,mak-ingitimpossibleforthefewremainingmalecrabtofertilizethemuchhighernumberoffemalecrab.SexratiodisparityisthoughttohavecontributedtothecollapseoftheKodiakredkingcrabfishery(BechtolandKruse2009;JuneauEmpire2007).

Susceptible Crab Aggregations Characteristicsofadultredkingcrab(age8to30years)canbeexploited(oroverexploited)byharvesters.Juvenileandadultcrabsseasonallymigrateandcongregateforprotectionfrompredation(juveniles),toinhabitpreferredhabitat,andtomate(adults)(Ivanov2002).Allcrabharvesterstargetknowncrabaggregationstoensureahighcatch-per-uniteffort(CPUE).Becauseofthisaggregatingtendency,theCPUEforcrabcouldremainstablewhiletheabundanceandrangeofacrabstockshrinks(Erismanetal.2011).Hyperstability,asthisiscalled,isonereasonwhycatchdataaloneisnotagoodindicatorofcrababundanceorthehealthofastock(RoseandKulka1999).

Bering Sea crab boat.


Alllegalcrabharvesterstargetknownadultmaleaggregationareas.Illegalharvesterstargettheseareasalsowhetherornottheyareclosedtothelegalfishery.TheWestKamchatkasub-zone,theareathatoncehadthehighestabundanceofredkingcrabintheRussianFarEast,wasclosedforfiveyears(2008through2012)duetoconservationconcerns.Illegalharvestersmayhavecrabbedinthisareaduringtheclosedperiod,whichmayhaveslowedtherebuildingofthatstock.

Reduced Crab Fecundity InthelegalRussiancrabfishery,theharvestseasonisSeptember1toDecember31.Femaleandjuvenilecrabcannotberetained.Tofacilitatemaximumreproduction,femalesarenotharvested(onemalecanmatewithmultiplefemalessoitisbelievedthatmalescanbeharvestedwithoutloweringapopu-lation’sreproductivepotential).Femalesandjuvenilesarealsotypicallysmallerandthereforeoflowermarketvalue.

TheillegalcrabfisheryisnotconfinedbytheseRussianharvestrules.Japaneseport-landingrecordsincludeRussian-originfemaleandjuvenilecrab,aswellasyear-roundlivecrablandings,illustratingthatRussianfisheriesmanagementpoliciesestab-lishedtoprotectcrabreproductionmaybeignoredbyillegalharvesterstothedetrimentofcrabstocks(Karaivanov2012).

Regime Shifts and Food Web InstabilityKingcrab,beingverylarge,aremajorpredators,scavengingalongtheoceanfloorforbivalvesandotherepibenthicbiota.Thisscavengingbehaviorstirsupbenthicsediments.Crabandcrablarvaearealsopreyedupon;Pacificcodisthemainpredatorofredandbluekingcrab(NorthPacificFisheryManagementCouncil2011).OverexploitationofkingcrabintheRussianFarEastcouldhavefoodwebimpactssuchasanincreaseinepibenthicfaunaabundanceoradecreaseincodabundance,althoughtheseindirectimpactsarenotknown.

Persistentoverexploitationofatopbenthicpredatorhascausedregimeshiftsinothermarineecosystems,suchasexcessiveremovalofcodintheNorthAtlantic(Franketal.2005).Similarly,theredkingcrabfisheryaroundKodiakIslandinAlaskaexperi-encedoverexploitationandaclimateregimeshiftsimultaneously,whichcausedthecrabpopulationtocrashandfailtorebuild(BechtolandKruse2009).Redkingcrabwassoheavilyexploitedinthe1970saroundKodiakIslandthatthesexratioswerelikelyskewed,whichdecreasedreproductionandrecruitment.Atthesametime,theNorthPacificexperiencedalargerclimaticshift,whichbroughtwarmerwaterstothearea,creatingfavorablecon-ditionsforPacificcod,whichpreyonjuvenilecrab.Overharvest,combinedwithanexternalfactor(aperiodofwarmerwater),resultedinaregimeshiftwherecrabwasnolongerabundantenoughtosustainacommercialcrabfishery.Timeandareaclo-sureswerenoteffectiveinreversingthedecline;thefishery wasclosedin1983.TheKodiakIslandredkingcrabfisherydid notrebuild,andthereisnocommercialfisherytoday.

Detrimental Fishing Behavior Driven by Market PressureExternalmarketforcesdrivethebehaviorofillegalcrabhar-vesters(seeBox10onJapanesehorsehaircrab).Theseexternalmarketforcesincludedemandforlargecrab(live)andcrablegs(frozen),demandforcleanshelled(no/fewbarnaclesorscratches,marksormissingclaws)crabandcrablegs(bothliveandfrozen),anddemandforcrabaroundtheChristmasandNewYearholidays(liveandfrozen).Illegalcrabharvestersprobablyprefertoharvestlargecrab(usuallymale)andclean-shellcrabbecausetheyfetchthehighestprice.

High-gradingforthesemoredesirableindividualslikelyoccursintheillegalcrabfisheryandmayalsooccurinthelegalcrabfishery(on-boardobservercoverageinthelegalRussiancrabfisheryis3to5%).High-gradingisproblematicbecauselargefemalecrabarethemostfecund(havethemosteggs)andwillonlymatewithlargemales.Ifbodysizehasaheritablecomponent,selectiveremovalofthelargestindivid-uals(maleorfemale)willresultinevolutionofthepopulationtowardsmallermeanbodysizeandthelossofgeneticdiver-sity(Allendorfetal.2004).

Insummary,crabinRussia’sFarEastisalmostcertainlybeingoverfishedandhasbeenoverfishedfortenormoreyears.Duetoillegalfishing,theRussianFarEastcrabfisheryisatriskofnotleavingenoughmalesformating,depletinglucrativecrabaggregationsandlocalpopulationsandfailingtoprotectclosedareasfromharvestpressure.OverharvestresultedintheclosureoftheredkingcrabfisheryintheWestKamchatkaharvestsub-zoneforfiveyears.ContinuedoverharvestcouldresultinthecollapseofcrabstocksinpartoralloftheRussianFarEast,couldaltertheecosystemandfoodwebsystemswithinthatsamerangeandcrabcouldbecomescarceforhumanconsump-tionandpredatorsalike.

BOX 10JAPANESE HORSEHAIR CRAB: AN EXTREME EXAMPLE While historically red king crab has been the most valuable crab species in Russian waters, there is high demand for many of Russia’s other crab species, and thus all crab species face pressures related to IUU fishing. Foreign imports of most of Russian crab species greatly exceed Russia’s own official TAC and production. For instance, Russia’s TAC for Japanese horsehair crab (Erimacrus isenbeckii) has recently been low at 90-471 mt (198 thousand to 1 million lbs.), but the Japanese horsehair crab is in high demand in Japan and thus Japanese imports exceeded Russia’s official TAC by 24.8 times in 2010. Importantly, TINRO acknowledges that high rates of IUU fishing persists for all Russian crab species and is prompted by the high demand, and hence high market value, for Russian crab, particularly in Japan and the United States. Source: TINRO (2014)


TheillegalharvestofRussiancrabisofmajorinternationalconcern.ThisWWFreportshowsthatRussiancrabcontinuestobeharvestedatunsustainablelevelsduetothecontinuedprevalenceofillegalcrabfishinginRussianwaters.InadditiontodocumentingthescaleofRussianillegalcrabcatchandtheattemptsofbilateralagreementstodeterillicitactivities,Boxes2-10highlightspecificexamplesofillegalcrabfishingwhich,takentogether,showthatillegalharvestingofcrabcontin-uestobeaproblembothintheRussianFarEastandintheBarentsSea,andisperpetratedbothbyRussiannationalsandforeigners.

ThecontinuedprevalenceofillegalcrabharvestingmeansthatthereishighuncertaintyabouttheoverallecologicalhealthofRussia’snativecrabpopulationsintheFarEast.AsthisWWFreportshows,withoutaccurateassessmentsandcontrolofIUUactivity,Russiancrabpopulationscouldbesusceptibletocat-astrophicdecline.Thisprecarioussituationneedsimmediateattentionandmultilateralaction.

WWFencouragesthoseinvolvedinthemanagement,harvest,policy,tradeandconsumptionofcrabtotakeactionandinsistthatcrabbetraceabletoverifiablylegalsources.Inordertoachievethisgoal,WWFrecommendsthefollowing:

FOR LEGAL RUSSIAN HARVESTERS TheFarEastCrabCatchersAssociationpublicallyspeaksoutagainsttheillegalcrabfisheryonbehalfofitsmembers.36TheAssociationanditsconstituentcompaniesshouldcontinuetoadvocateformorestringentprotocolsandregulationsinordertoeradicateIUUfishingandrelatedcorruptionfromtheindustry.TheAssociationisalsocontemplatingMarineStewardshipCouncil(MSC)certification,whichwouldprovideathoroughthird-partyassessmentofstockhealth.Additionally,MSCChainofCustodycertificationwouldprovideassurancestobuyersandconsumersofproductsourceandlegality.

• Harvesters should join the Far East Crab Catchers Association to bolster support and lobby for reform.

• The Far East Crab Catchers Association should attempt to become MSC certified.

FOR U.S. AND JAPANESE IMPORTERS/BROKERS/BUYERS OF RUSSIAN CRAB FOR U.S. BUYERS -UndertheLaceyAct,theresponsibilityoflegalitylieswiththeimporter,andthusimportersshoulduseduediligencetodeterminetheprovenanceandsupplychainofcrab.Buyersshouldnotonlyinsistthattheyneedtoseeveri-fieddocumentationonthelocationofcatch(notjustplaceof

36TheFarEastCrabCatchersAssociationiscurrentlyledbyAleksandrPavlovichDuplyakov.

RecommendationsPhoto courtesy of Josh Thomas

A full crab pot being pulled up from the bottom of the sea to a crab boat for harvest.


landing/export)fromtheirsuppliersbutalsoconductsitevisitswiththeirsuppliers.

FOR JAPANESE BUYERS -Underthebilateralagreementandtheforeignexchangelaws,importersareresponsibleforeliminatingillegalRussiancrabfromtheJapaneseseafoodmarket(JapanFisheriesAgency2014).Companiesshouldensuresupplychainlegalityandshouldsupporttheirsupplierstomovetowardssustainableproduction.

FOR BOTH U.S. AND JAPANESE BUYERS

• Require the correct documentation, including catch certification.

• Support the establishment of transparent trace-ability systems for all seafood, including crab.

• Support MSC certification of crab harvesters.

FOR THE RUSSIAN GOVERNMENT AND RUSSIAN FEDERAL FISHERY AGENCYTheRussiannationalplanforaddressingIUUshouldbeimplemented.Catch/Harvestdocumentationshouldcontaininformationonthespecificspeciesandspecificzone(orsub-zone)oftheoriginofcatch,inadditiontolistingtheplaceoflanding/export.Itisunknownwhetherdailycatchreportsincludethislevelofdetailbecausetheyarenotpubliclyavail-able.Thisinformationandthedailycatchreportsshouldbemadepubliclyavailablesothatanyonecanverifythedailyves-selreportsandimportersofRussiancrabcanverifythelegalityoftheircrabimports.

• Improve quota and landings documentation and make the information available to the public for verification.

• Require all legal crab vessels to regularly broad-cast a signal that can be monitored by satellite, and monitor signals as an enforcement mechanism.

• Seek improved partnerships between agencies to implement Russia’s national plan of action to com-bat IUU fishing.

• Introduce a new law that makes it an offense for Russian nationals (citizens and companies) to be involved in IUU activities, regardless of the flag state of the fishing vessel or support vessel involved.

FOR THE U.S. GOVERNMENTThePresidentialTaskForceonCombatingIllegal,UnreportedandUnregulatedFishingandSeafoodFraudshouldrecom-mendthecreationof,undercurrentlaw,agloballyharmonizedandcomprehensivesystemtoensurethatallseafoodsoldintheUnitedStatesisfullytraceabletoverifiablylegalsources.

SuchasystemshouldbecapableofaddressingRussianillegalcrabaswellasotherIUUfishingactivities.Afinalsystemofverifiabletraceabilityandproofoflegalityshouldbebuilttohelpstreamlineexistingimportandfoodsafetyrequirementsandprocesses,shouldmirrorthedatatransmissionrequire-mentsthatalreadyapplytoU.S.domesticfishermen,shouldbeflexibleenoughtowithstandthepassageoftimeandshouldencourageindustryinnovation.Asystemforverifiabletrace-abilityandproofoflegalityshouldincorporatethefollowingconcepts:catchdocumentationandtraceabilityrequirementsforallseafoodsoldintheU.S.,adequatedigitaltrackingand/orrecordkeeping,refusalofentryforallseafoodproductsthatfailtoprovideevidenceoflegalorigin,andaverificationsystemstructuredaroundrisk-basedandrandomaudits.ThePresidentshouldadoptsuchrecommendationsfollowingtheTaskForcesubmissionandshoulddirectrelevantagenciestopromulgateregulations,throughapublicprocess,tomeetbasicsystemobjectives.

• Presidential Task Force on IUU Fishing and Seafood Fraud recommends, and President Obama adopts, a comprehensive system based on concepts of proof of legality, traceability, and verification to ensure that all seafood sold in the United States is fully traceable to verifiably legal sources. Task Force agencies then promulgate regulations to meet system objectives.

FOR THE JAPANESE, SOUTH KOREAN, AND U.S. GOVERNMENTSBilateralagreementsmaybeaproductivestartingplace,butbasedontheconnectivityoftradebetweenRussia,Japan,SouthKoreaandtheUnitedStates,itisimperativethatamulti-lateralworkinggroupandinitiativebeadoptedamongthefourcountries.ThismultilateralinitiativecouldbeusedtocreateaunifiedsystemthroughoutthePacificRimforallRussiancrabimportingcountries,consistentandharmonizedwithexisting,relevantsystemsinthoseindividualcountries.

• Establish an IUU initiative between Russia, South Korea, Japan and United States specifically to address IUU crab as an immediate short-term measure and adopt harmonized regulations as a longer-term goal.

• Require seafood imports, including crab, to show verifiable evidence of legality, supported by digital tracking and/or recordkeeping.

FOR ALL GOVERNMENTS GovernmentagenciesshouldappealtotheWorldCustomsOrganization(WCO)torequiremoreincreasedharmonizationforproducts,likecrab,thatarenearlyimpossibletotracktothespecies-levelwithonlytherequiredeight-digitcode(ofwhichonlysix-digitsareharmonized).TwoimplicationsarisewithregardtoHScodesforcrab:

30 ILLEGAL RUSSIAN CRAB: AN INVESTIGATION OF TRADE FLOW

Crabisparticularlyproblematicduetothefactthattherearemultiplespeciesofcrabthatareoftencombinedundercom-monnames(i.e.‘kingcrab’oftenincludesthreespeciesintheU.S.,seeAppendix).GiventhatthefirstdivisionwithintheHScodesystemistohaveafrozen/livesplit,thistakesupallofthesix-digitsrequiredtobeharmonized(030614forfrozencraband030624forlivecrab).Iftwomoredigitswererequiredtobeharmonized(eighttotal),thentheseventhandeighthdigitscouldbeusedtoenumerateallcrabspeciesaroundtheworldindividuallybygenusandspecies(iftherearelessthan99spe-ciesaroundtheworld).

Havingspecies-levelharmonizationcodesrequiresinspectors,customsofficers,lawenforcementandothersinvolvedinthemovementofthespecificgoodstobetrainedtoidentifywithhighaccuracythegivenproduct.Relevantgovernmentsshouldunder-standtheselimitationsandadvocateforincreasedfundingforthetrainingofitspublicservantstodealwithallillegalseafood.

• Improve Harmonization System (HS) Codes for all North Pacific crab as well as for other fish and sea-food species that indicate large trade discrepancies between trade partners and are also suspected IUU fisheries.

• Share trade data (imports, exports, forecasts, and TACs).

• Share enforcement intelligence in real time, including vessel movements.

• Harmonize more than the trade codes between countries: harmonize appropriate laws, vessel markings, recording of vessel movements, etc.

FOR CONSUMERS OF KING AND SNOW CRAB:Consumersofcrabshouldinquireabouttheoriginofcraband,ifitisRussiancrab,askthesupplieraboutthemeasurestakentoensureitslegality.

• Buy and eat only legal crab, and ask for verification of legality.

• Lobby your government to require that country of catch information on all seafood (processed and fresh), including crab, be available to consumers.


Red king crab.


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Appendix

After the 6-‐digit HS

Code,

the following countries u

se

the following codes:

Russia

China

Japan

(IMPO

RTS)

Japan

(EXP

ORTS)

South Ko

rea

United States

Canada

(IMPO

RTS)

Canada

(EXP

ORTS)

0306 14 10 (00)

-‐ Frozen Crabs "Paralithodes

Camchaticus, C

hion

oece

tes S

pp."

And

"Cal

linec

tes

Sapi

dus"

, Whe

ther

In S

hell

Or N

ot, I

ncl.

Crab

s In

Shel

l, Co

oked

By

Stea

min

g O

r By

Boili

ng In

Wat

er

0306 14 10

-‐Fro

zen

Fres

h-‐w

ater

Sw

imm

ing

Crab

s ('�梭子蟹

) 0306 14 01 (00)

IMPO

RTS

ON

LY-‐ K

ing Crabs

(Paralith

odes Spp.), Frozen

0306 14 00 (00) E

XPO

RTS

ON

LY-‐ C

rabs

, Fro

zen

0306 14 10 (xx) -‐

Crab

mea

t (at

10-‐

digi

t le

vel s

plit

by a

irtig

ht (1

1), a

nd n

ot a

irtig

ht

cont

aine

rs (1

2) a

nd o

ther

(90)

).

0306 14 20 (00)

Cra

bmea

t, Fr

ozen

(any

cra

b sp

ecie

s) 0306 14 00 (xx) I

MPO

RTS

ON

LY-‐ C

rabs

, fro

zen,

in

shel

l or n

ot, i

nclu

ding

boi

led

in sh

ell (

at 1

0-‐di

git

leve

l spl

it by

Kin

g Cr

abs (

10),

and

Snow

Cra

bs (2

0)

and

Dung

enes

s Cra

bs (3

0), a

nd C

rabs

NES

OI (

90)).

0306 14 00 E

XPO

RTS

ON

LY -‐

Crab

s fr

ozen

, in

shel

l or n

ot, i

nclu

ding

boi

led

in sh

ell

0306 14 30 (00)

-‐ F

roze

n Cr

abs "

Canc

er P

agur

us",

W

heth

er In

She

ll O

r Not

, Inc

l. Cr

abs I

n Sh

ell,

Cook

ed B

y St

eam

ing

Or B

y Bo

iling

In W

ater

0306 14 00

-‐ C

rabs

, Inc

ludi

ng in

Sh

ell,

Froz

en 0306 14 02 (00)

-‐ IM

PORT

S O

NLY

Sno

w

Crab

s (Ch

iono

ecet

es S

pp.),

Fro

zen

0306 14 10 (00) E

XPO

RTS

ON

LY-‐ C

rabs

, Fro

zen,

Sm

oked

0306 14 20 (xx) -‐

Kin

g Cr

abs (

at 1

0-‐di

git

leve

l spl

it by

airt

ight

(11)

, and

not

airt

ight

co

ntai

ners

(12)

and

oth

er (9

0)).

0306 14 40 (xx) -‐

Crab

s, N

esoi

, Inc

ludi

ng C

ooke

d By

Ste

amin

g O

r By

Boili

ng In

Wat

er, F

roze

n (a

t 10

-‐dig

it le

vel s

plit

by Frozen King Crabs, except

crabmeat (10),

and

Froz

en S

now

Cra

bs, e

xcep

t cr

abm

eat (

20),

and

Froz

en D

unge

ness

Cra

bs,

exce

pt c

rabm

eat (

30),

and

Fro

zen

Crab

s NES

OI,

exce

pt c

rabm

eat (

90))

0306 14 10 (00) IM

PORT

S O

NLY

-‐ King Or Snow

Crabs F

or Processing, Frozen,

In S

hell

Or N

ot, I

ncl

Boile

d In

She

ll

0306 14 10 E

XPO

RTS

ON

LY -‐

Crab

s,

Snow

(Que

en),

Froz

en

0306 14 90 (00)

-‐ Other F

roze

n Cr

abs,

Whe

ther

In

Shel

l Or N

ot, I

ncl.

Crab

s In

Shel

l, Co

oked

By

Stea

min

g O

r By

Boili

ng In

Wat

er (E

xcl.

"Par

alith

odes

Cam

chat

icus

, Chi

onoe

cete

s Spp

.",

"Cal

linec

tes S

apid

us",

And

"Can

cer P

agur

us")

0306 14 90

-‐ O

ther

Fro

zen

Crab

s 0306 14 03 (00)

-‐ IM

PORT

S O

NLY

Sw

imm

ing

Crab

s (Po

rtun

us S

pp.),

Fro

zen

0306 14 90 (00) E

XPO

RTS

ON

LY-‐ C

rabs

, Fro

zen,

But

N

ot S

mok

ed

0306 14 30 (xx) -‐

Blu

e Cr

abs (

at 1

0-‐di

git

leve

l spl

it by

airt

ight

(11)

, and

not

airt

ight

co

ntai

ners

(12)

and

oth

er (9

0)).

0306 14 90 (xx) -‐

IMPO

RTS

ON

LY-‐ C

rabs

, Exc

l For

Pr

oces

sing,

Fro

zen,

In S

hell

Or N

ot,In

cl In

She

ll Ck

d In

Wat

er,E

tc. (

at 1

0-‐di

git l

evel

split

by

Froz

en K

ing

Crab

s, e

xcep

t for

pro

cess

ing

(10)

, and

Fro

zen

Snow

Cr

abs,

exc

ept f

or p

roce

ssin

g (2

0), a

nd F

roze

n Du

ngen

ess C

rabs

(30)

, and

Fro

zen

Crab

s NES

OI

(90)

).

0306 14 20 E

XPO

RTS

ON

LY -‐

Crab

s,

Dung

enes

s, F

roze

n

0306 14 09 (00)

-‐ IM

PORT

S O

NLY

-‐ Cr

abs,

Oth

er T

han

King

Cra

bs (P

aral

ithod

es

Spp.

), Sn

ow C

rabs

(Chi

onoe

cete

s Spp

.),

Swim

min

g Cr

abs (

Port

unus

Spp

.), F

roze

n

0306 14 90 (xx) -‐

Oth

er C

rabs

(at 1

0-‐di

git

leve

l spl

it by

airt

ight

(11)

, and

not

airt

ight

co

ntai

ners

(12)

and

oth

er (9

0)).

0306 14 90 E

XPO

RTS

ON

LY -‐

Crab

s,

Froz

en, N

ESO

I

0306 14 10 (00) -‐

IMPO

RTS

ON

LY C

rabs

, Fr

ozen

, Sm

oked

APPENDIX: Harmonized System (H

S) Com

modity Codes fo

r Crab

****

* Ce

lls h

ighl

ight

ed in

red

indi

cate

that

at l

east

1 o

f the

3 sp

ecie

s of K

ing

Crab

(Kam

chat

ka R

ed, B

lue,

or G

olde

n/Br

own)

ARE

con

tain

ed in

the

HS C

ode

****

* Ce

lls h

ighl

ight

ed in

pin

k in

dica

te th

at a

ny 1

of t

he 3

spec

ies o

f Kin

g Cr

ab (K

amch

atka

Red

, Blu

e, o

r Gol

den/

Brow

n) M

AY B

E co

ntai

ned

with

in th

e HS

Cod

e

0306 -‐ Crustaceans, molluscs a

nd other aquatic invertebrates, live or frozen

0306 14 (Frozen Crab) Crabs, Including In Shell, Cooked

By Steaming Or By Boiling In Water, Frozen


Afte

r the

6-‐d

igit

HS C

ode,

the

follo

win

g co

untr

ies u

se t

he

follo

win

g co

des:

Russ

iaCh

ina

Japa

n (IM

PORT

S) Ja

pan

(EXP

ORT

S)So

uth

Kore

aU

nite

d St

ates

Cana

da (I

MPO

RTS)

Cana

da

(EXP

ORT

S)

0306

24

10 -‐ C

rabs

'Par

alith

odes

Cam

chat

icus

, Ch

iono

ecet

es S

pp.' An

d 'Callin

ectes S

apidus

', Whe

ther In

She

ll Or N

ot, L

ive,

Drie

d, S

alte

d O

r In

Brin

e, In

cl. C

rabs

In S

hell,

Coo

ked

By S

team

ing

Or

By B

oilin

g In

Wat

er

0306

24

10 -‐N

on-‐Frozen Crab

s,

For C

ultiv

ation

030

6 24

11

-‐ IMPO

RTS ONLY-‐K

ing

Crab

s (Paralith

odes Spp

.), Live, Fresh

Or C

hille

d 0

306

24 0

0 (0

) EXP

ORT

S ONLY-‐ C

rabs

, Not Frozen

030

6 24

10

(xx)

-‐ Crab

, live, fresh, or

chilled

(at 1

0-‐digit lev

el sp

lit by Live

, Fresh Or C

hille

d (00), B

lue Crab

(10),

Snow

Crab (20), a

nd Other (9

0)).

030

6 24

20

(00) Crabm

eat, Not Frozen

030

6 24

00

(00) -‐ IM

PORT

S ONLY -‐ Crab

s, Not

Froz

en, In Sh

ell O

r Not, Inc

luding

In She

ll Co

oked

In

Water,Etc

030

6 24

00

-‐ EXP

ORT

S ONLY -‐C

rabs

, Not Frozen

0306

24

30 (0

0)-‐ Crabs

"Can

cer P

agurus

",

Whe

ther In

She

ll Or N

ot, Live, Drie

d, Salted Or In

Brine, In

cl. C

rabs

In She

ll, Coo

ked By

Steam

ing Or

By Boilin

g In W

ater

0306

24

91-‐ Non

-‐Frozen Fresh-‐

Water Crabs

030

6 24

12

(x)-‐ IM

PORT

S ONLY-‐Sno

w Crabs

(Chion

oece

tes S

pp.), Live, Fresh

Or C

hille

d (at 9

-‐digit leve

l split by

Sno

w Crabs

(Chion

oece

tes S

pp.), Live, Fresh

Or C

hille

d)

(0), Re

d Sn

ow Crabs

(Chion

oece

tes S

pp.),

Live

, Fresh

Or C

hille

d (1), an

d Other Sno

w

Crab

s (Ch

iono

ecetes Spp

.), Live, Fresh

Or

Chilled

(9)).

030

6 24

10

(0) E

XPORT

S ONLY-‐ C

rabs

, Not Frozen,

Smok

ed

030

6 24

20

(00)

-‐ Crab

, drie

d. 0

306

24 4

0 (0

0) -‐ Crab

s, Not Frozen, Excep

t Crab

mea

t 0

306

24 1

0 -‐ E

XPORT

S ONLY -‐

Crab

mea

t, no

t frozen

0306

24

80 (0

0)-‐ Other Crabs

, Whe

ther In

She

ll Or

Not, Live, Drie

d, Salted Or In Brine, In

cl. C

rabs

In

Shell, Co

oked

By Stea

ming Or B

y Bo

iling

In W

ater

(Excl. "C

ance

r Pag

urus

")

0306

24

92 -‐ Non

-‐Frozen

Swim

ming Crab

s 0

306

24 1

3 (0

)-‐ IM

PORT

S ONLY-‐Swim

ming

Crab

s (Po

rtun

us Spp

.), Live, Fresh

Or C

hille

d 0

306

24 9

0 (0

) EXP

ORT

S ONLY-‐ C

rabs

, Not Frozen,

But N

ot Smok

ed

030

6 24

30

(00)

-‐ Crab

, Salted Or In

Brine.

030

6 24

20

-‐ EXP

ORT

S ONLY -‐C

rabs

, no

t frozen, in

shell, includ

ing bo

iled in

shell

0306

24

90 -‐ Co

oked

By Stea

ming Or B

y Bo

iling

In

Water (E

xcl. 'Paralith

odes Cam

chaticus

, Ch

iono

ecetes Spp

.', 'C

allin

ectes S

apidus

', An

d 'Can

cer P

agurus

0306

24

99 -‐ Non

-‐Frozen Crab

s,

NES

OI (Not Elsw

here Spe

cifie

d or In

dicated)

030

6 24

14

(0)-‐ IM

PORT

S ONLY-‐H

orseha

ir Crab

, Live, Fresh

Or C

hille

d 0

306

24 4

0 (x

x) -‐ Crab

, in co

ntaine

rs (at

10-‐digit leve

l split by

: In Airtight

Containe

rs (1

1), N

ot In

Airt

ight

Containe

rs (1

2), O

ther (9

0).

030

6 24

15

(0)-‐ IM

PORT

S ONLY-‐ M

itten

Crab

s, Live, Fresh

Or C

hille

d

030

6 24

19

(0)-‐ IM

PORT

S ONLY-‐ O

ther

Crab

s, Other Tha

n King

Crabs

, Live, Fresh

Or

Chilled

030

6 24

20

(0)-‐ IM

PORT

S ONLY-‐Crabs

, Dr

ied, Salted Or In Brine

030

6 24

50

(0)-‐ IM

PORT

S ONLY-‐Crabs

, Sm

oked

0306

-‐ Cr

usta

cean

s, m

ollu

scs a

nd o

ther

aqu

atic

inve

rteb

rate

s, li

ve o

r fro

zen

APPE

NDI

X: H

arm

oniz

ed S

yste

m (H

S) C

omm

odity

Cod

es fo

r Cra

b

****

* Ce

lls highlighted

in re

d indicate th

at at lea

st 1 of the

3 sp

ecies o

f King Crab

(Kam

chatka

Red

, Blue, or G

olde

n/Brow

n) ARE

con

tained

in th

e HS

Cod

e

****

* Ce

lls highlighted

in pink indicate th

at any

1 of the

3 sp

ecies o

f King Crab

(Kam

chatka

Red

, Blue, or G

olde

n/Brow

n) M

AY BE co

ntaine

d with

in th

e HS

Cod

e

0306 24 (Live Crab)

Crabs, Live, Fresh, Chilled, Dried, Salted Or In Brine, Or Cooked By Steaming Or Boiling In Water, Not Frozen


After the 6-‐digit HS

Cod

e, th

e following countries u

se the

following codes:

Russia

China

Japan

(IMPO

RTS)

Japan

(EXP

ORTS)

South Ko

rea

United States

Canada

(IMPO

RTS)

Canada

(EXP

ORTS)

1605 10 00 (00) -‐C

rab, Prepared Or P

reserved

1605 10 00 (00) -‐C

rab, Prepared

Or P

reserved

1605 10 01 0 -‐ IM

PORTS ONLY-‐Crab In

Airtight Con

tainers, Not Smoked, Prepared

Or P

reserved

1605 10 00 (00) -‐C

rab,

Prepared Or P

reserved

1605 10 10 10 -‐Crab, prepared or

preserved, In Airtight Con

tainers

1605 10 05 10 -‐ C

rab Prod

ucts Con

taining Fish

Meat; Prepared M

eals; In Airtight Con

tainers

1605 10 10 -‐ EXPO

RTS ONLY -‐ Crab,

prepared or p

reserved, in airtight

containers

1605 10 02 1 -‐ IM

PORTS ONLY -‐ Crab,

Containing Rice, Excluding In Airtight

Containers, Prepared Or P

reserved

1605 10 10 (0) -‐Crab,

Prepared Or P

reserved, In

Airtight Con

tainers


preserved, Smoked, Excluding In Airtight

Containers

1605 10 05 90 -‐ C

rab Prod

ucts Con

taining Fish

Meat/Prepared M

eals, NESOI

1605 10 10 -‐ EXPO

RTS ONLY -‐ Crab,

prepared or p

reserved, in airtight

containers

1605 10 02 9 -‐ IM

PORTS ONLY -‐ Crab

Prepared Or P

reserved, N

ESOI (Not

Elsewhere Specified or Indicated)

1605 10 90 (0) -‐Crab,

Prepared Or P

reserved,

Excluding Those In Airtight

Containers


preserved, Other

1605 10 20 (xx) -‐ Crabmeat, Prepared, In Airtight

Containers (at 1

0-‐digit level sp

lit by: King

Crabmeat (10), Snow

Crabm

eat, C. Opilio (Small)

(22), Sno

w Crabm

eat N

ESOI (25), Du

ngeness

Crabmeat (30), Crabmeat, NESOI (40), Sw

imming

Crabmeat, Prepared or P

reserved, (Portun

idae)

Callinectes Spp,Including Blue Crabs (C

. Sapidus)

(51), Swimming Crabmeat (Portunidae),

Prepared/Preserved, N

ESOI (59), and Crabmeat,

Prepared Or P

reserved, N

ESOI (90)).

1605 10 11 -‐ EXPO

RTS ONLY -‐ Crab,

Snow

(Queen), Prepared Or

Preserved, In Airtight Con

tainers


preserved, Red Sno

w Crab Meat

1605 10 40 (xx) -‐ Crabmeat, Prepared, Frozen (at

10-‐digit level split by King Crabmeat (02), Snow

Crabmeat, C. Opilio (Small) (05), Sno

w Crabm

eat

NESOI (10), Du

ngeness C

rabm

eat (15),

Crabmeat, NESOI (20), Callinectes Spp, Including

Blue Crabs (C

. Sapidus), Frozen (25), Swimming

Crabmeat,P

repared or Preserved, (Portunidae)

(30), O

ther Crabm

eat, Prepared Or P

reserved,

Frozen, N

ESOI (35), and Crabmeat, Prepared Or

Preserved, Nesoi (40)).

1605 10 12 -‐ EXPO

RTS ONLY -‐ Crab,

Dungeness, Prepared Or P

reserved, In

Airtight Con

tainers


preserved, Other

1605 10 19 -‐ EXPO

RTS ONLY -‐ Crab,

Prepared Or P

reserved, In Airtight

Containers, N

ESOI


preserved, Other

1605 10 90 -‐ EXPO

RTS ONLY -‐ Crab,

prepared or p

reserved, not in airtight

containers


preserved, Other

1605 10 91 -‐ EXPO

RTS ONLY -‐ Crab,

Snow

(Queen), Prepared Or

Preserved, O/T In Airtight Con

tainers

1605 10 92 -‐ EXPO

RTS ONLY -‐ Crab,

Dungeness, Prepared Or P

reserved,

O/T In Airtight Con

tainers

1605 10 92 -‐ EXPO

RTS ONLY -‐ Crab,

Prepared Or P

reserved, O

/T In Airtight

Containers, N

ESOI

1605 -‐ Crustaceans, molluscs a

nd other aqu

atic invertebrates, prepared or preserved

1605 10 (Prepared Crab) Crabs, Prepared Or Preserved, Including Products Containing Fish Meat

1605 10 00 (xx) -‐ IM

PORTS ONLY-‐ C

rabm

eat (at 10-‐

digit level sp

lit by: Crab, Prepared Or P

reserved, In

Cans Or G

lass Jars (10), Crab Meat, Co

oked By

Steam Or B

oil In Water, N

ot Further Prepared Or

Presvd (91), Crab Meat, Co

oked By Steaming Or

Boiling In W

ater, Frozen (92), Crab, Prepared Or

Preserved, NESOI (99)).

1605 10 60 (xx) -‐ Crabs Prepared Or P

reserved,

NESOI (at 1

0-‐digit level sp

lit by: Crabs Prepared

Or P

reserved, N

ESOI, In Airtight Con

tainers (10),

and Crabs P

repared Or P

reserved, N

ESOI (90)).

APPENDIX: Harmon

ized System (H

S) Com

mod

ity Cod

es fo

r Crab

***** Cells highlighted in re

d indicate th

at at least 1 of the 3 sp

ecies o

f King Crab (Kam

chatka Red, Blue, or G

olden/Brow

n) ARE con

tained in th

e HS

Cod

e

***** Cells highlighted in pink indicate th

at any 1 of the 3 sp

ecies o

f King Crab (Kam

chatka Red, Blue, or G

olden/Brow

n) M

AY BE contained with

in th

e HS

Cod

e

World Wildlife FundArctic Field Program

406 G Street, Suite 301Anchorage, Alaska 99501

USA
