Russia may deny Japan and South Korea crab catch quotas, a senior Moscow official indicated, citing a series of cases of smuggling illegally caught crab to South Korea via Japan.
In Moscow, Federal Agency for Fishery head Andrei Krainy warned Wednesday of the possible denial of quotas in Russia's Far East waters if no improvement is observed in smuggling in its exclusive economic zone. Japan and Russia signed a pact last month to block crab poaching in the Sea of Okhotsk.
Krainy said 300 to 600 tons of poached crabs is ending up in Hokkaido ports every month to be smuggled out to South Korea without inspection by authorities, and expressed dissatisfaction with the Japanese government.
