Alaska crabbers demand Russian import ban

An Alaska-based crab fishermen’s association is calling on U.S. President Barack Obama to initiate a ban on Russian seafood product imports to the United States.

The Alaska Bering Sea Crabbers (ABSC) said in a statement today that the ban should be in retaliation for a ban Russian President Vladimir Putin called for on products from the United States and other Western countries. Putin’s ban was in response to economic sanctions imposed on Russia by the West for Russia’s continued involvement in the crisis in Ukraine.

“Mr. Putin has demonstrated that he is more than willing to flex Russian economic muscle to achieve its foreign policy objectives,” ABSC said in its statement. “It’s time for the U.S. to follow suit and flex some muscles of its own.”

The ABSC also charged that Russian crab fisheries are involved in Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) fishing, citing data from multiple sources including the World Wildlife Fund and the Alaska-based McDowell Group. The ABSC charged that “a significant amount” of crab produced by IUU fishing is sold to consumers in the United States.

“These unwitting consumers have little, if any knowledge, that by eating unspecified king crab they may be supporting this illegal activity,” ABSC wrote.

Keep checking SeafoodSource for all the latest news on Russia’s ban on seafood exports

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