Two fishing trawlers were detained for crab poaching off the Kamchatka coast, the public relations group of the North-Eastern Border Department of the Federal Security Service Coast Guard told Itar-Tass on Monday.
Russian border guards spotted the trawlers Storm and Ajax flying the colours of Cambodia in the fishing area on December 13. The poaching vessels were trying to escape from the chase in retaliation to demands to let border guards aboard the trawlers. However, the trawlers stopped after the Russian border guards had made warning shots in the air.
About 20 tons of live crabs were found aboard the Storm, and 50 tons of crab by-products were confiscated aboard the Ajax. The captains did not produce fishing licenses.
The trawlers were arrested. The poaching vessels are being convoyed to the port of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky.