Illegal Fishing Market Value: $16.50 Billion
The total value of Illegal Fishing losses worldwide is between $10 billion and $23 billion annually.
Source: MRAG and the University of British Colombia Fihseries Centre, “The Globa Extent of Illegal Fishing, ” April 2008.
Illegal trade in South African Abalone valued at $70 to $140 million
The illegal trade in South African abalone is estimated at$ 70 to $140 million. The catch is approximately 1,500 tonnes.
Source: MRAG and the University of British Colombia Fisheries Centre, “The Global Extent of Illegal Fishing,” April 2008, pg.8.
Japan under-reported $6 billion worth of Bluefin tuna over 20 years
Source: MRAG and the University of British Colombia Fisheries Centre, “The Global Extent of Illegal Fishing,” April 2008, pg. 7.
$350 million of illegal cod caught in 2005
Over 100,000 tonnes of illegal cod valued at 225 million euros (350 million dollars) was caught in the Barents Sea (Atlantic Ocean) in 2005.
Source: AFP, “Illegal cod fishing in Arctic threatening fisheries: WWF,” Yahoo News, April 15, 2008.
Black market caviar sold 10 times initial price
In the Caspian Sea, a kilogram of caviar sells for $300 to $500 on the black market. It is then sold in Europe and the United States at a price worth 10 times as much.
Source: C.J. Chivers, ” Corruption Endangers a Treasure of the Caspian,” York Times, November 28, 2005.
Russian gangs smuggle $4,450 per kilo of caviar
The Associated Press reported that “Russian crime gangs smuggle beluga caviar in suitcases, fetching $4,450 per kilogram in the retail market.”
Source: Associated Press, ” Crime syndicates smuggling wildlife,” Yahoo News, June 7, 2007.
10 times more sturgeon caught illegally than legally
An estimated 10 times more sturgeon is caught illegally than under officially regulated fishing.
Source: Shaun Walker, “Caviar: The black market in black gold,” The Independent, December 28, 2007.
$1.6 billion of seafood enters Europe illegally each year
Source: Elizabeth Rosenthal,“Something’s fishy as Europe dines,”International Herald Tribune, January 14, 2008, (accessed: January 14, 2008).
Up to 50 percent of seafood sold in Europe is product of illegal fishing
The WWF believes that as much as 50 percent of the seafood sold in Europe is the product of illegal fishing.
Source: Elizabeth Rosenthal,“Something’s fishy as Europe dines,”International Herald Tribune, January 14, 2008, (accessed: January 14, 2008).
$6 million a year for illegal fishing activities off the Somali Coast
Source: Nick Rankin, “No vessel is safe from modern pirates,” BBC News, March 11, 2008.
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