Japan’s snow crab import volume in January was down 4 percent from last year, from 46 metric tons (MT) to 44 MT, with the average price down 8 percent from 929 yen to 850 yen per kilogram (kg). In dollar terms, that price decline is greater, reflecting the weaker yen.
“Abenomics,” Prime Minister Abe’s policy of yen devaluation, means lower prices for Alaskan crabbers. This month, Japanese buyers were offering 10 percent less than in 2012 for Alaska snow crab, reflecting the yen’s loss of buying power. That drop still won’t be enough to keep prices stable in Japan, as the yen has gone from below 80 yen per dollar to around 96 yen to the U.S. dollar currently.
Demand for Alaska king crab in Japan also looks weak, as salaries fail to keep pace with an uptick in inflation, dampening luxury spending. King crab clusters are now being offered in Japan at around JPY 1,575 (USD16.40 / EUR13.10) per kg for 5L size (1,300–1,500 grams per section).
The Japanese government is struggling to prevent imports of poached Russian crab. Russia enacted a law in 2008 requiring fishery products caught in its exclusive economic zone (EEZ) to be landed in Russia prior to export. Previously, Russian vessels would catch king and snow crab in the Russian Far East without regard to regulation or quotas and deliver it directly to ports in Hokkaido.
Before the law, in 2007, approximately 80,000 MT of Russian crab was recorded as imported to other countries, mainly Japan, while none was officially exported. Since then, official exports have risen to about 20,000 MT, while importing country data show double this amount. That is, about half of the crab imports are still illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) product.
Russia has been asking importing nations to stop accepting IUU crab. An agreement was signed in 2009 with South Korea and has been in force since last June, with crab certificates of origin being issued by Russia and checked by South Korean port authorities. However, forged documents and re-export of Russian crab from Japan under Japanese certificates of origin (“crab laundering”) have limited the effectiveness of the agreement. Japanese authorities turn a blind eye, as the seafood processing work supports the economies of fishing ports in northern Hokkaido, particularly Wakkanai, Mombetsu and Abashiri.
Last September, the governments of Japan and Russia finally signed an agreement requiring Japanese authorities to demand Russian certificates of origin for imports of crab caught in Russia’s EEZ. Japan has held educational seminars for the industry about the new program, but has dragged its feet on implementation.
Now, as a means of getting around the requirement, vessels flying flags of convenience, such as Cambodia and Sierra Leone, have become active in poaching Russia’s EEZ. As the vessels are not Russian and may claim a different origin for the product, Japan does not have to request a certificate of origin. Some of the vessels are Japanese vessels that have had their ownership transferred to Hong Kong shell companies.
Other vessels appear to have been re-acquired by Russian criminal syndicates after having once been confiscated for poaching. In March, Kamchatka Territory investigating bodies of the Russian Investigative Committee charged Andrey Fomenko, former head of Federal State Property Management Agency in Kamchatka Territory, with exceeding official powers. The Federal State Property Management Agency in Kamchatka Territory had in its possession 15 ships confiscated by the court that were supposed to be sold at auction or destroyed, but in September 2011 Fomenko issued orders transferring possession of the ships to two state enterprises, which in turn sold or leased out the ships. No payment was received by the federal agency and the vessels have departed and been reflagged to the Seychelles.
Russian bloggers say that Fomenko is being set up as a fall guy, as he was ordered over his objections to proceed with the transfer by a deputy head of the agency, and he notified the local district attorney of the action to give him the opportunity to file suit to block it.
The affair highlights the difficulty the Russian authorities will have in suppressing organized crime with deep connections in government and business, especially when their activities are aided by importers and flag-of-convenience nations.
