The Alaskan Bering Sea crab industry is pressing for a crackdown on marketing Barents Sea king crab illegally harvested by Russian boats. They are also coordinating with international efforts aimed at the illegal harvesting operations. It is estimated that 30 million pounds of illegal crab meat were brought to the market last year. The bulk of which comes in through the United States. These findings were brought to the attention of the United States Congress. Russian fisheries estimate the poaching rate topped 44 million pounds of king crab in the last year, two times the legal catch quota.
