Russia Loses USD 70-100 Million Every Year from Illegal Export of Fish in Far East

Russia loses USD 70-100 million every year from the illegal export of fish in the Far East. As a Rosbalt correspondent reports, this was announced today by Alexei Orlov, head of the economic crime department of the Russian Interior Ministry.

He said that 60% of Russian fish is caught in this region while the turnover of the illegal fish trade is as profitable as that of the illegal drug trade. 264 crimes of this kind were recorded on Sakhalin alone in 2002-2003, accounting for losses of USD 15.3 million. The number of discovered crimes has increased by 4.5% since the economic crime department began its inquiries on Sakhalin. Mr Orlov added that in 2002 and 2003 the economic crime department had managed to catch 42 illegally operated vessels, seven of which had been seized.