Japanese Captain To Pay $137,000 For Poaching In Russia

Watanabe Hiroyuki, captain of the Seiko Maru-81 Japanese vessel will pay over 4.1 million rubles ($136,700) as a fine for poaching in Russia's exclusive economic zone. According to the RIA Novosti correspondent, Nakhodka Town Court adopted this decision Thursday on examining the suit brought by the Military Prosecutor's Office of the Russian Federal Frontier Service's Pacific Regional Administration. The Seiko Maru-81 was detained on September 11 by the Korshun patrol ship in Russia's exclusive economic zone in the Japanese Sea. The examination of the vessel revealed that the holds contained over 6.5 tons of tanner crab, and 5 tons more were in traps in water. Hiroyuki completely acknowledged his guilt. The court bound the Japanese citizen to pay 100,000 rubles ($3,300) as a fine and 4 million rubles ($133,300) as a compensation for the damage to Russia's biological resources. According to the court decision the illegal catch and about 1,000 crab traps have been confiscated. After paying out the fine, the Seiko Maru-81 with its crew will be escorted from Nakhodka to neutral waters.