[ { "id": "C01", "slug": "galapagos-carrier", "title": "The cargo that cost a carrier its freedom", "titleEs": "El cargamento que le costó la libertad a un buque", "place": "Ecuador / Galápagos", "region": "pacific", "status": "Court judgment", "topics": [ "catch", "support", "enforcement" ], "period": "2017 seizure; 2019-07-18 cassation decision", "kind": "case", "relation": "Western Hemisphere core", "featured": true, "reviewed": "2026-09-08", "summary": "The National Court’s 18 July 2019 decision ordered forfeiture of Fu Yuan Yu Leng 999, identified Hong Long as its owner, and confirmed compensation of approximately US$6.14 million.", "findings": [ { "text": "The National Court’s 18 July 2019 decision ordered forfeiture of Fu Yuan Yu Leng 999, identified Hong Long as its owner, and confirmed compensation of approximately US$6.14 million. Its reasoning concerns the transport of protected specimens. The vessel was a refrigerated carrier; this is not evidence that it caught the cargo itself or that all the animals were caught inside the reserve.", "sources": [ "S02" ] }, { "text": "China’s agriculture ministry also took action. Its February 2018 notice found that Fu Yuan Yu Leng 999 had transferred tuna and sharks beyond its authorized activity and ordered suspension of Fuzhou Honglong’s qualification and its 78 vessel projects. This is a separate Chinese administrative record, not evidence that all 78 vessels committed that offense.", "sources": [ "S36" ] } ], "why": "A carrier can connect catches, vessels and markets that are otherwise difficult to follow. This case makes the transport stage visible: possession and movement of protected wildlife had legal consequences even though the carrier was not itself the catching vessel.", "limits": "establish catch-origin evidence, supplier vessels, disposition of the ship and compensation collection. Do not turn a judgment ordering payment into a claim that payment occurred.", "stateNexus": "No operational state direction established in this case record", "sourceIds": [ "S02", "S36" ], "entityIds": [ "E01", "E02" ], "response": "The court record includes the defendants’ legal arguments and the intervening appeal. The 2019 court restored forfeiture and otherwise confirmed the second-instance decision; earlier rulings should not be displayed as the final result.", "responseSources": [ "S02" ], "timeline": [ { "date": "2017", "title": "Seizure and criminal proceedings", "detail": "The carrier and protected-wildlife cargo entered Ecuador’s enforcement and judicial process.", "sources": [ "S02" ] }, { "date": "2018-02-13", "title": "Chinese administrative action", "detail": "China’s ministry issued a separate notice on the carrier and operating company.", "sources": [ "S36" ] }, { "date": "2019-07-18", "title": "Forfeiture ordered", "detail": "The cassation decision restored forfeiture and confirmed compensation. Collection of that compensation is not established here.", "sources": [ "S02" ] } ] }, { "id": "C02", "slug": "hua-li-8", "title": "A pursuit in Argentina. A detention in Indonesia.", "titleEs": "Una persecución en Argentina. Una detención en Indonesia.", "place": "Argentina → Indonesia", "region": "atlantic", "status": "Official enforcement", "topics": [ "catch", "enforcement" ], "period": "2016", "kind": "case", "relation": "Direct cross-ocean enforcement connection", "featured": true, "reviewed": "2026-09-08", "summary": "Argentina’s Prefectura describes Hua Li 8 fishing illegally in 2016, resisting inspection and later being detained in Indonesia following international cooperation. The record distinguishes a federal judicial order from an INTERPOL Purple Notice; a Purple Notice is not itself an arrest warrant.", "findings": [ { "text": "Argentina’s Prefectura describes Hua Li 8 fishing illegally in 2016, resisting inspection and later being detained in Indonesia following international cooperation. The record distinguishes a federal judicial order from an INTERPOL Purple Notice; a Purple Notice is not itself an arrest warrant.", "sources": [ "S08" ] } ], "why": "Vessels cross jurisdictions; enforcement records often do not. The sequence illustrates why a coastal-state investigation, a judicial process and a later port or coastal-state intervention must be connected before the outcome can be understood.", "limits": "obtain the Indonesian detention and release records, the ownership history applicable in 2016, and the final Argentine judicial outcome. A detention is not a conviction.", "stateNexus": "Argentine and Indonesian enforcement; Chinese state direction not established", "sourceIds": [ "S08" ], "entityIds": [ "E03" ], "response": "The linked record does not establish a separate response obtained by this project. No outreach was conducted for this file.", "responseSources": [], "timeline": [ { "date": "2016", "title": "Detection and flight", "detail": "Prefectura’s account describes fishing activity in Argentina’s EEZ and resistance to inspection.", "sources": [ "S08" ] }, { "date": "2016", "title": "International cooperation", "detail": "The Argentine account describes a subsequent detention in Indonesia. A Purple Notice and a judicial order are distinct instruments.", "sources": [ "S08" ] } ] }, { "id": "C03", "slug": "long-xing-629", "title": "The debt and abuse that followed a crew to sea", "titleEs": "Deudas y abusos que acompañaron a una tripulación al mar", "place": "Pacific / Indonesia", "region": "connections", "status": "Sanctions & labor findings", "topics": [ "labor", "enforcement" ], "period": "Worker events and recruitment cases through 2021; sanctions 2022", "kind": "case", "relation": "Connected labor and operator case, not a South American seizure", "featured": true, "reviewed": "2026-09-08", "summary": "Treasury’s 2022 action identifies Dalian Ocean Fishing and Li Zhenyu in connection with serious abuse.", "findings": [ { "text": "Treasury’s 2022 action identifies Dalian Ocean Fishing and Li Zhenyu in connection with serious abuse. CBP announced a fleet-wide Withhold Release Order in May 2021. Tansa and its reporting partners documented recruitment, debt, pay and deaths associated with the fleet. Their investigation reports five recruitment-agency personnel convicted of either trafficking or unlawful recruitment; those are not interchangeable offenses, and the underlying Indonesian judgments have not been independently examined for this dossier.", "sources": [ "S03", "S09", "S10" ] } ], "why": "The route begins before boarding. Recruitment terms, debt, wages and the ability to leave determine whether a person is free to stop working. A record of illness or a death is important, but coercion and responsibility must be established from additional evidence. Remedies matter as much as exposing the original abuse.", "limits": "identify each recruiter and defendant from original proceedings; obtain precise judgments and compensation outcomes. Treat the 2021 WRO as a dated action until its present status is separately checked.", "stateNexus": "Treasury describes subsidies; that does not establish operational orders", "sourceIds": [ "S03", "S09", "S10", "S11" ], "entityIds": [ "E04", "E05", "E06" ], "response": "The linked record does not establish a separate response obtained by this project. No outreach was conducted for this file.", "responseSources": [], "timeline": [ { "date": "2021-05-28", "title": "U.S. import restriction announced", "detail": "CBP announced a Withhold Release Order covering the Dalian fleet. This is the historical action, not a fresh certification of current WRO status.", "sources": [ "S09" ] }, { "date": "2022-12-09", "title": "Treasury designation", "detail": "Treasury designated the company and Li Zhenyu under its human-rights sanctions authority.", "sources": [ "S03" ] }, { "date": "2026-09-08", "title": "Selected SDN entries rechecked", "detail": "The company and individual remained in the retrieved official SDN list.", "sources": [ "S11" ] } ] }, { "id": "C04", "slug": "pingtan-network", "title": "A sanctioned company. A fleet that kept operating.", "titleEs": "Una empresa sancionada y una flota que siguió operando", "place": "Americas / corporate network", "region": "pacific", "status": "Sanctions", "topics": [ "finance", "labor", "support" ], "period": "2022 designation; five selected SDN entries checked 2026-09-08", "kind": "case", "relation": "Western Hemisphere-linked corporate network", "featured": true, "reviewed": "2026-09-08", "summary": "Treasury’s 9 December 2022 action identifies Pingtan Marine Enterprise, Fuzhou Honglong and Xinrong Zhuo, with described corporate and operational relationships. A current public SDN-list check on 8 September 2026 found these three entries and the entries for Dalian Ocean Fishing and Li Zhenyu still present.", "findings": [ { "text": "Treasury’s 9 December 2022 action identifies Pingtan Marine Enterprise, Fuzhou Honglong and Xinrong Zhuo, with described corporate and operational relationships. A current public SDN-list check on 8 September 2026 found these three entries and the entries for Dalian Ocean Fishing and Li Zhenyu still present.", "sources": [ "S03", "S11" ] }, { "text": "Pingtan’s SEC-filed response asserted compliance with applicable fishing and employment laws and discussed seeking relief from the designations. That response belongs beside the government’s findings.", "sources": [ "S12" ] }, { "text": "A company filing supplies a financial connection independent of later sanctions: Pingtan reported pledging fishing vessels and guaranteeing Hong Long’s bank borrowing in 2012–2013. The filing identifies China Minsheng Bank and Ping An Bank in these arrangements. It does not establish that a lender participated in subsequent abuse.", "sources": [ "S37" ] } ], "why": "Corporate control, operational management and financial exposure can connect businesses without making them identical. Keeping each relationship dated allows readers to distinguish a documented guarantee from an ownership claim, and a sanction from the behavior of a particular ship or transaction.", "limits": "reconcile current corporate records, ship identities, management and any restructuring; analyze individual transactions before alleging sanctions evasion.", "stateNexus": "Treasury describes subsidies and business relationships; not a finding of direction for every voyage", "sourceIds": [ "S03", "S05", "S11", "S12", "S37" ], "entityIds": [ "E07", "E08", "E09", "E28", "E29" ], "response": "Pingtan’s December 2022 SEC-filed statement asserted compliance with applicable fishing and employment laws and discussed possible relief from OFAC’s designations. Its response does not independently resolve the government’s findings.", "responseSources": [ "S12" ], "timeline": [ { "date": "2012–2013", "title": "Financial ties disclosed", "detail": "Later SEC filings described vessel collateral and related-party guarantees.", "sources": [ "S37" ] }, { "date": "2022-12-09", "title": "Sanctions imposed", "detail": "Treasury announced the designation action.", "sources": [ "S03" ] }, { "date": "2022-12-16", "title": "Company response", "detail": "Pingtan asserted compliance in an SEC-filed statement.", "sources": [ "S12" ] }, { "date": "2025-06-03", "title": "Operational follow-up published", "detail": "C4ADS reported continued Pingtan-controlled vessel activity during its study period. Activity alone does not establish a prohibited transaction.", "sources": [ "S05" ] }, { "date": "2026-09-08", "title": "Selected SDN entries rechecked", "detail": "Pingtan, Fuzhou Honglong and Xinrong Zhuo were present in the official list snapshot.", "sources": [ "S11" ] } ] }, { "id": "C05", "slug": "people-at-sea", "title": "The people behind the port records", "titleEs": "Las personas detrás de los registros portuarios", "place": "South American ports", "region": "atlantic", "status": "Documented context", "topics": [ "labor" ], "period": "2013–2023 deaths/disappearances; 2024 Peru medical events", "kind": "context", "relation": "Western Hemisphere labor and port records", "featured": false, "reviewed": "2026-09-08", "summary": "ITF also reports at least 27 crew disembarkations for medical attention in Peru during 2024. Its records provide a starting point for vessel-specific follow-up, not a diagnosis of trafficking in each instance.", "findings": [ { "text": "ITF also reports at least 27 crew disembarkations for medical attention in Peru during 2024. Its records provide a starting point for vessel-specific follow-up, not a diagnosis of trafficking in each instance.", "sources": [ "S07" ] } ], "why": "A person disembarked for treatment may need care, unpaid wages, repatriation or access to a complaint process. A port arrival is not the end of the story. Following those outcomes makes the record useful to the institutions responsible for worker protection, not only those responsible for fishing controls.", "limits": "seek corroborating port, hospital, consular and judicial records through appropriate public channels. Publish only necessary, already-public personal details; do not expose witnesses, their families or sensitive medical material.", "stateNexus": "Not inferred from flag", "sourceIds": [ "S07" ], "entityIds": [], "response": "The linked record does not establish a separate response obtained by this project. No outreach was conducted for this file.", "responseSources": [], "timeline": [ { "date": "2013–2023 deaths/disappearances; 2024 Peru medical events", "title": "Period covered by this record", "detail": "Read the cited findings and their stated limits. This is a dated case or context record, not live vessel monitoring.", "sources": [ "S07" ] } ] }, { "id": "C06", "slug": "peru-chile-ports", "title": "When the rules change, where do the ships go?", "titleEs": "Cuando cambian las reglas, ¿adónde van los barcos?", "place": "Peru / Chile", "region": "pacific", "status": "Policy & reported patterns", "topics": [ "support", "enforcement" ], "period": "2024 rule; subsequent port-use reporting through 2025", "kind": "policy_context", "relation": "Western Hemisphere core", "featured": true, "reviewed": "2026-09-08", "summary": "PRODUCE’s October 2024 explanation of Decreto Supremo 014-2024-PRODUCE describes strengthened controls over foreign fishing vessels and satellite-monitoring arrangements. EJF subsequently reports a shift in port use toward Chile.", "findings": [ { "text": "PRODUCE’s October 2024 explanation of Decreto Supremo 014-2024-PRODUCE describes strengthened controls over foreign fishing vessels and satellite-monitoring arrangements. EJF subsequently reports a shift in port use toward Chile.", "sources": [ "S13", "S04" ] } ], "why": "Ports are where ships receive services, change crews and become available for inspection. If requirements differ, activity can move between jurisdictions. Establishing whether a move was lawful, commercial, humanitarian or an attempt to evade a specific rule requires the relevant decision and voyage records.", "limits": "compare dated arrivals, authorization decisions, reasons for entry, monitoring compliance and inspection outcomes on both sides. Preserve emergency and humanitarian exceptions; do not portray medical assistance itself as misconduct. Confirm amendments before presenting the 2024 decree as the complete current rulebook.", "stateNexus": "Coastal and port-state regulation; no operational direction claim", "sourceIds": [ "S13", "S04" ], "entityIds": [], "response": "The linked record does not establish a separate response obtained by this project. No outreach was conducted for this file.", "responseSources": [], "timeline": [ { "date": "2024", "title": "Peru strengthens foreign-vessel controls", "detail": "PRODUCE explained the satellite-monitoring and control requirements associated with DS 014-2024-PRODUCE.", "sources": [ "S13" ] }, { "date": "2026-02-19", "title": "Regional port-use investigation", "detail": "EJF published its account of subsequent operating and port-use patterns.", "sources": [ "S04" ] } ] }, { "id": "C07", "slug": "argentine-flags", "title": "An Argentine flag does not tell the whole ownership story", "titleEs": "La bandera argentina no cuenta toda la historia de la propiedad", "place": "Argentina", "region": "atlantic", "status": "Investigative reporting", "topics": [ "identity", "finance" ], "period": "2024 investigation; historical licensing records", "kind": "ownership_context", "relation": "Western Hemisphere core", "featured": false, "reviewed": "2026-09-08", "summary": "The Outlaw Ocean Project’s August 2024 investigation identified at least 62 Chinese-controlled industrial fishing vessels flying Argentina’s flag. That figure is not a count of 62 convicted vessels, nor exclusively a count of squid boats. The investigation explicitly describes lawful forms of “flagging in.”", "findings": [ { "text": "The Outlaw Ocean Project’s August 2024 investigation identified at least 62 Chinese-controlled industrial fishing vessels flying Argentina’s flag. That figure is not a count of 62 convicted vessels, nor exclusively a count of squid boats. The investigation explicitly describes lawful forms of “flagging in.”", "sources": [ "S14" ] } ], "why": "show registered owner, ultimate control, fishing rights and the relevant dates separately. The accountability question is whether a particular arrangement meets domestic law and whether regulators could see who controlled it.", "limits": "consult Argentine corporate and fisheries decisions for named operators. Do not label a joint venture a front company without evidence of concealment or illegality.", "stateNexus": "Must verify ownership and any state-controlled parent for each entity and date", "sourceIds": [ "S14" ], "entityIds": [], "response": "The linked record does not establish a separate response obtained by this project. No outreach was conducted for this file.", "responseSources": [], "timeline": [ { "date": "2024 investigation; historical licensing records", "title": "Period covered by this record", "detail": "Read the cited findings and their stated limits. This is a dated case or context record, not live vessel monitoring.", "sources": [ "S14" ] } ] }, { "id": "C08", "slug": "offshore-support", "title": "The ships that keep a fleet at sea", "titleEs": "Los barcos que mantienen una flota en alta mar", "place": "Pacific / Atlantic", "region": "pacific", "status": "Investigative reporting", "topics": [ "support", "finance" ], "period": "C4ADS study period 2021–2024, published 2025", "kind": "network_context", "relation": "Western Hemisphere-linked support network", "featured": false, "reviewed": "2026-09-08", "summary": "C4ADS links Wei Fong carriers and Zhoushan Ningtai operations while explicitly noting lawful, authorized carrier activity. It also examines floating medical and logistics support.", "findings": [ { "text": "C4ADS links Wei Fong carriers and Zhoushan Ningtai operations while explicitly noting lawful, authorized carrier activity. It also examines floating medical and logistics support.", "sources": [ "S05" ] } ], "why": "distinguish an observed encounter, a documented service, a confirmed cargo transfer and a proven prohibited transaction. A service relationship can explain how a fleet operates without proving that the service provider knew of abuse.", "limits": "use cargo manifests, authorizations and contemporaneous registry records to substantiate individual connections. Medical support should be evaluated for care and accountability outcomes, not treated as inherently suspicious.", "stateNexus": "Not established in this module", "sourceIds": [ "S05" ], "entityIds": [ "E10", "E11" ], "response": "The linked record does not establish a separate response obtained by this project. No outreach was conducted for this file.", "responseSources": [], "timeline": [ { "date": "C4ADS study period 2021–2024, published 2025", "title": "Period covered by this record", "detail": "Read the cited findings and their stated limits. This is a dated case or context record, not live vessel monitoring.", "sources": [ "S05" ] } ] }, { "id": "C09", "slug": "wei-yu-18", "title": "A vessel, a death record, an unresolved labor trail", "titleEs": "Un buque, una muerte y una investigación laboral pendiente", "place": "Uruguay / distant waters", "region": "atlantic", "status": "Reported allegations", "topics": [ "labor" ], "period": "Historical incidents in linked investigation; current registry unchecked", "kind": "case", "relation": "Western Hemisphere-linked labor case", "featured": false, "reviewed": "2026-09-08", "summary": "The Outlaw Ocean Project’s vessel record associates Wei Yu 18 with Weihai Huanhai Aquatic and reports deaths and forced-labor allegations. The record identifies IMO 8782587, helping distinguish the ship from similarly named vessels.", "findings": [ { "text": "The Outlaw Ocean Project’s vessel record associates Wei Yu 18 with Weihai Huanhai Aquatic and reports deaths and forced-labor allegations. The record identifies IMO 8782587, helping distinguish the ship from similarly named vessels.", "sources": [ "S15" ] } ], "why": "a source-led vessel timeline with the operator’s identity dated to the relevant events, plus a distinct response and outcome section.", "limits": "obtain the underlying local records and any operator response. A petition asking CBP to issue an import restriction must not be displayed as though CBP already issued it. Current operating status also requires a fresh registry check.", "stateNexus": "Not established", "sourceIds": [ "S15" ], "entityIds": [ "E12", "E13" ], "response": "The linked record does not establish a separate response obtained by this project. No outreach was conducted for this file.", "responseSources": [], "timeline": [ { "date": "Historical incidents in linked investigation; current registry unchecked", "title": "Period covered by this record", "detail": "Read the cited findings and their stated limits. This is a dated case or context record, not live vessel monitoring.", "sources": [ "S15" ] } ] }, { "id": "C10", "slug": "seafood-processing", "title": "The labor story does not end at the landing port", "titleEs": "La historia laboral no termina en el puerto", "place": "China → U.S. markets", "region": "markets", "status": "Administrative action", "topics": [ "labor", "trade" ], "period": "2024-06-12 listing", "kind": "case", "relation": "Connected processing and market-control case", "featured": false, "reviewed": "2026-09-08", "summary": "A Federal Register notice effective 12 June 2024 added Shandong Meijia Group, also known as Rizhao Meijia Group, to the UFLPA Entity List. The relevant government determination concerns labor-transfer practices.", "findings": [ { "text": "A Federal Register notice effective 12 June 2024 added Shandong Meijia Group, also known as Rizhao Meijia Group, to the UFLPA Entity List. The relevant government determination concerns labor-transfer practices.", "sources": [ "S16" ] } ], "why": "explain why a product’s processing history matters separately from where the fish was caught. This action does not establish that all input seafood was illegally harvested or that every overseas buyer knowingly participated.", "limits": "verify current listing status, identify documented plants and shipments, and separate harvest, processing and export countries. The live UFLPA list was not independently verified for this dossier; the 2024 listing is the established event.", "stateNexus": "Government listing criteria concern labor transfers; do not broaden beyond determination", "sourceIds": [ "S16" ], "entityIds": [ "E14" ], "response": "The linked record does not establish a separate response obtained by this project. No outreach was conducted for this file.", "responseSources": [], "timeline": [ { "date": "2024-06-12 listing", "title": "Period covered by this record", "detail": "Read the cited findings and their stated limits. This is a dated case or context record, not live vessel monitoring.", "sources": [ "S16" ] } ] }, { "id": "C11", "slug": "kaven-wildlife", "title": "Marine wildlife behind a furniture-company front", "titleEs": "Fauna marina detrás de una empresa de muebles", "place": "Mexico → U.S. → China", "region": "markets", "status": "Guilty pleas & sentencing", "topics": [ "trade", "catch", "enforcement" ], "period": "2015 indictment; guilty pleas 2015-07-21", "kind": "case", "relation": "Direct Western Hemisphere trade route", "featured": true, "reviewed": "2026-09-08", "summary": "A furniture business concealed a marine-wildlife trade route from Mexico through the United States to China. DOJ records establish guilty pleas and a later sentencing—not just an accusation.", "findings": [ { "text": "Kaven Company and owner Kam Wing Chan pleaded guilty in July 2015 to smuggling marine wildlife. DOJ’s later bulletin confirms they were sentenced on 5 October 2015 and ordered to pay restitution to Mexico. The records describe a route from Mexico through the United States to China, using a furniture business to move abalone and totoaba.", "sources": [ "S06", "S17", "S35" ] } ], "why": "The network is not limited to ships. A legitimate-looking business category can hide a prohibited product flow. Following declarations, border crossings, companies and the admitted conduct makes the concealment mechanism visible without treating every customer or relative as a participant.", "limits": "The sentencing bulletin repeats the individual’s name in two different penalty descriptions. The underlying judgments are needed before assigning every probation, fine and restitution component. The site does not claim restitution was collected or allege guilt by an uncharged associate.", "stateNexus": "No PRC government direction established", "sourceIds": [ "S06", "S17", "S35" ], "entityIds": [ "E15", "E16" ], "response": "The guilty pleas are recorded in DOJ’s July-case summary. The site uses the later sentencing record to update the procedural outcome rather than leaving the case at the indictment stage.", "responseSources": [ "S06", "S35" ], "timeline": [ { "date": "2015-01-09", "title": "Indictment announced", "detail": "DOJ described the furniture-company front and alleged smuggling route.", "sources": [ "S17" ] }, { "date": "2015-07-21", "title": "Guilty pleas", "detail": "The company and owner entered pleas in the smuggling case.", "sources": [ "S06" ] }, { "date": "2015-10-05", "title": "Sentencing", "detail": "DOJ’s later bulletin records sentencing and restitution orders.", "sources": [ "S35" ] } ] }, { "id": "C12", "slug": "philippines-award", "title": "Fishing rights, damaged reefs and an arbitral award", "titleEs": "Derechos de pesca, arrecifes dañados y un laudo arbitral", "place": "Philippines / South China Sea", "region": "connections", "status": "Arbitral findings", "topics": [ "coercion", "catch" ], "period": "2016-07-12 award", "kind": "comparative_case", "relation": "Comparison; no Americas operator link established", "featured": false, "reviewed": "2026-09-08", "summary": "The tribunal found violations involving Philippine resource rights, interference with traditional fishing access at Scarborough Shoal, harmful wildlife harvesting and severe coral-reef damage. The official summary also explains that it did not decide sovereignty over land territory. China rejected the arbitration and award.", "findings": [ { "text": "The tribunal found violations involving Philippine resource rights, interference with traditional fishing access at Scarborough Shoal, harmful wildlife harvesting and severe coral-reef damage. The official summary also explains that it did not decide sovereignty over land territory. China rejected the arbitration and award.", "sources": [ "S18" ] } ], "why": "a clearly labeled comparative case of state conduct and marine-resource harm. It is not evidence that a squid ship off Peru is a maritime-militia vessel.", "limits": "any contemporary vessel- or militia-specific feature needs separate dated evidence. AMTI/C4ADS’ specialized militia research is a starting point for that task, not a basis for blanket attribution.", "stateNexus": "State conduct directly at issue in arbitral findings", "sourceIds": [ "S18", "S19" ], "entityIds": [], "response": "The linked record does not establish a separate response obtained by this project. No outreach was conducted for this file.", "responseSources": [], "timeline": [ { "date": "2016-07-12 award", "title": "Period covered by this record", "detail": "Read the cited findings and their stated limits. This is a dated case or context record, not live vessel monitoring.", "sources": [ "S18" ] } ] }, { "id": "C13", "slug": "natuna-confrontation", "title": "When a fishing inspection becomes a state confrontation", "titleEs": "Cuando una inspección pesquera se convierte en un conflicto entre Estados", "place": "Indonesia / Natuna", "region": "connections", "status": "Competing official accounts", "topics": [ "coercion", "enforcement" ], "period": "2016-03-19 incident; official accounts 20–21 March", "kind": "comparative_case", "relation": "Comparison; common Americas ownership not established", "featured": false, "reviewed": "2026-09-08", "summary": "Indonesian officials stated that a Chinese coast-guard vessel interfered with enforcement against Kway Fey 10078 near Natuna. China’s foreign ministry advanced a different account, referring to traditional fishing grounds and assistance to the vessel.", "findings": [ { "text": "Indonesian officials stated that a Chinese coast-guard vessel interfered with enforcement against Kway Fey 10078 near Natuna. China’s foreign ministry advanced a different account, referring to traditional fishing grounds and assistance to the vessel.", "sources": [ "S20", "S21" ] } ], "why": "compare what each government stated against positions, applicable maritime zones and incident records. Sovereign resource rights in an EEZ are not identical to territorial sovereignty.", "limits": "obtain contemporaneous records for the ship and intervention. No common ownership with a South American case has been established here; classify this as a comparison, not a proven network connection.", "stateNexus": "Coast-guard intervention reported; scope disputed between parties", "sourceIds": [ "S20", "S21" ], "entityIds": [ "E17" ], "response": "China’s foreign ministry presented its own account, referring to traditional fishing grounds and coast-guard assistance. Indonesian officials described interference with enforcement. These are identified as competing party accounts.", "responseSources": [ "S21" ], "timeline": [ { "date": "2016-03-19 incident; official accounts 20–21 March", "title": "Period covered by this record", "detail": "Read the cited findings and their stated limits. This is a dated case or context record, not live vessel monitoring.", "sources": [ "S20" ] } ] }, { "id": "C14", "slug": "squid-fleet-rules", "title": "A large fleet. A rulebook. A compliance question.", "titleEs": "Una gran flota, reglas y obligaciones", "place": "Southeast Pacific", "region": "pacific", "status": "Official data & rules", "topics": [ "catch", "enforcement" ], "period": "2024 activity data; 2026 adopted measures", "kind": "institutional_context", "relation": "Western Hemisphere-centered regional context", "featured": false, "reviewed": "2026-09-08", "summary": "The applicable framework is not a legal vacuum. SPRFMO’s published 2026 measures include squid-vessel limits and monitoring requirements. Its transshipment measure establishes rules for transfers, while the organization also has a labor-standards decision.", "findings": [ { "text": "The applicable framework is not a legal vacuum. SPRFMO’s published 2026 measures include squid-vessel limits and monitoring requirements. Its transshipment measure establishes rules for transfers, while the organization also has a labor-standards decision.", "sources": [ "S22", "S23", "S24" ] } ], "why": "tell readers what is required, which body can act, and what evidence would establish noncompliance. An authorized high-seas operation can still raise environmental or labor concerns, but those concerns need their own evidence.", "limits": "link vessel authorization and observer coverage to the rule in force on the event date. Treat a labor decision, binding conservation measure and national law as distinct instruments.", "stateNexus": "Regulatory context, not evidence of particular government orders", "sourceIds": [ "S01", "S22", "S23", "S24" ], "entityIds": [], "response": "The linked record does not establish a separate response obtained by this project. No outreach was conducted for this file.", "responseSources": [], "timeline": [ { "date": "2024 activity data; 2026 adopted measures", "title": "Period covered by this record", "detail": "Read the cited findings and their stated limits. This is a dated case or context record, not live vessel monitoring.", "sources": [ "S01" ] } ] }, { "id": "C15", "slug": "flags-and-control", "title": "Changing flags is not the same as proving fraud", "titleEs": "Cambiar de bandera no demuestra por sí solo un fraude", "place": "International carrier network", "region": "pacific", "status": "Disputed attribution", "topics": [ "identity", "support" ], "period": "2025 research on earlier events", "kind": "verification_lead", "relation": "Western Hemisphere-linked research question", "featured": false, "reviewed": "2026-09-08", "summary": "C4ADS describes changes of flag among heavily used carriers and reports an ownership dispute involving Winson and certain ships. Winson denied the attributed ownership or control. That dispute must remain visible, not be converted into an undisputed network edge.", "findings": [ { "text": "C4ADS describes changes of flag among heavily used carriers and reports an ownership dispute involving Winson and certain ships. Winson denied the attributed ownership or control. That dispute must remain visible, not be converted into an undisputed network edge.", "sources": [ "S05" ] }, { "text": "IMO distinguishes fraudulent registration from legitimate registration and flag changes; the offense concerns unauthorized or falsely represented registration, not foreign ownership alone.", "sources": [ "S25" ] } ], "why": "show the underlying registry records and the competing interpretation, with dates. Legal flagging, disputed control and documentary fraud need separate labels.", "limits": "acquire original registry certificates, deletion records and corporate filings. This research did not independently establish a Western Hemisphere-specific fraudulent-registration case ready for a definitive accusation.", "stateNexus": "Not established", "sourceIds": [ "S05", "S25" ], "entityIds": [ "E18", "E19", "E20" ], "response": "Winson denied the ownership or control attributed to it in C4ADS’ investigation. The research report records that dispute; the site does not display the contested ownership as an established fact.", "responseSources": [ "S05" ], "timeline": [ { "date": "2025 research on earlier events", "title": "Period covered by this record", "detail": "Read the cited findings and their stated limits. This is a dated case or context record, not live vessel monitoring.", "sources": [ "S05" ] } ] }, { "id": "C16", "slug": "jing-yuan-626", "title": "The four ships that helped another escape inspection", "titleEs": "Los cuatro buques que ayudaron a otro a escapar de una inspección", "place": "Argentina", "region": "atlantic", "status": "Official enforcement", "topics": [ "enforcement", "catch" ], "period": "2018 events reported in 2022 brief", "kind": "case", "relation": "Western Hemisphere core", "featured": false, "reviewed": "2026-09-08", "summary": "An Argentine government announcement of 8 March 2018 says a federal judge ordered the international capture of Jing Yuan 626 and four other Chinese-flagged vessels.", "findings": [ { "text": "An Argentine government announcement of 8 March 2018 says a federal judge ordered the international capture of Jing Yuan 626 and four other Chinese-flagged vessels. The authorities describe the four vessels making dangerous maneuvers and attempted collisions during the pursuit. This strengthens the record beyond secondary reporting, but it is not a final criminal conviction.", "sources": [ "S34" ] } ], "why": "Interference by accompanying ships is a different claim from illegal fishing by the vessel under pursuit. Keeping those roles separate makes it possible to investigate coordinated conduct without imputing it to an entire fleet.", "limits": "The government announcement establishes the reported enforcement event and capture order. The final judicial disposition and the precise legal character of a later payment described in research remain unresolved here.", "stateNexus": "Not established", "sourceIds": [ "S34", "S26" ], "entityIds": [ "E21" ], "response": "The linked record does not establish a separate response obtained by this project. No outreach was conducted for this file.", "responseSources": [], "timeline": [ { "date": "2018-03-08", "title": "International capture order announced", "detail": "The government identified the pursued vessel and four vessels alleged to have obstructed inspection.", "sources": [ "S34" ] } ] }, { "id": "C17", "slug": "unregistered-carriers", "title": "The transfers to carriers outside the register", "titleEs": "Transferencias a transportistas fuera del registro", "place": "Southeast Pacific", "region": "pacific", "status": "Administrative finding", "topics": [ "support", "trade", "enforcement" ], "period": "2017 events; 13 February 2018 notice", "kind": "case", "relation": "Western Hemisphere-centered regional regulation", "featured": false, "summary": "China’s own agriculture ministry identified transfers to carriers not registered with SPRFMO and ordered the removal of annual fuel subsidies for four fishing vessels.", "findings": [ { "text": "The ministry’s notice names Hua Li 18, Hua Li 8, Hong Run 55 and Ning Tai 62 in unauthorized transfers to foreign carriers absent from SPRFMO’s register. It identifies the operating companies and orders withdrawal of their 2017 fuel subsidies, with captain-level action to follow provincial procedures.", "sources": [ "S36" ] } ], "why": "A transfer can be prohibited because the recipient lacks the required regional authorization. That is more specific than calling every meeting between two vessels illegal. It is also different from fraudulent national flag registration.", "limits": "The record establishes the ministry’s finding and orders, not the identity of each recipient carrier, implementation of every sanction, or present-day authorizations. A name match with another incident is not enough to merge a hull without identifiers.", "stateNexus": "Chinese government enforcement is documented; no government direction to commit the transfers is established.", "sourceIds": [ "S36", "S23" ], "entityIds": [ "E10", "E22", "E23", "E24" ], "response": "The ministry reports investigation and its administrative decision. No separate company response is established in the materials reviewed.", "responseSources": [], "timeline": [ { "date": "2017 events; 13 February 2018 notice", "title": "Period covered by this record", "detail": "Read the cited findings and their stated limits. This is a dated case or context record, not live vessel monitoring.", "sources": [ "S36" ] } ], "reviewed": "2026-09-08" }, { "id": "C18", "slug": "duplicate-ais-identity", "title": "Two ships. One transmitted identity.", "titleEs": "Dos buques. Una misma identidad transmitida.", "place": "SPRFMO fishing operations", "region": "pacific", "status": "Administrative finding", "topics": [ "identity", "enforcement" ], "period": "2017 discovery; 13 February 2018 notice", "kind": "case", "relation": "Western Hemisphere-centered regional regulation", "featured": false, "summary": "A Chinese ministry notice identifies an unauthorized AIS equipment change that left Hai Zhi Xing 801 and Ming Xiang 899 using the same AIS number.", "findings": [ { "text": "After a SPRFMO notification, China’s ministry found an unauthorized AIS change on Hai Zhi Xing 801. It ordered loss of the ship’s annual fuel subsidy, suspension of its distant-water project and replacement of the equipment; it called for further investigation of the possible relationship with Ming Xiang 899.", "sources": [ "S36" ] } ], "why": "An identity collision can make two vessels appear to be one and complicate the linkage of tracks to permits and ownership. Here there is a government finding about the equipment change—not merely a suspicious-looking map.", "limits": "The notice did not resolve the ships’ possible relationship. It does not establish fraudulent flag registration or prove that every voyage associated with the shared number was illegal. Current hull identifiers require separate verification.", "stateNexus": "A Chinese administrative investigation and ordered sanctions are documented.", "sourceIds": [ "S36", "S27", "S28" ], "entityIds": [ "E25", "E26", "E27" ], "response": "The notice states the ministry’s findings and an unresolved relationship inquiry. No separate operator response was established.", "responseSources": [], "timeline": [ { "date": "2017 discovery; 13 February 2018 notice", "title": "Period covered by this record", "detail": "Read the cited findings and their stated limits. This is a dated case or context record, not live vessel monitoring.", "sources": [ "S36" ] } ], "reviewed": "2026-09-08" }, { "id": "C19", "slug": "zhen-fa-7", "title": "Zhen Fa 7: from crew-abuse reporting to a U.S. import hold", "titleEs": "Zhen Fa 7: de las denuncias laborales a la retención de importaciones", "place": "Pacific and Atlantic South America / United States", "region": "pacific", "status": "Import order + reported abuse", "topics": [ "labor", "trade", "support", "enforcement" ], "period": "2020–2021 voyage; 2023 reporting; 2025 import order", "countryIds": [ "ecuador", "peru", "chile", "uruguay" ], "summary": "An investigation followed sick crew members through South American waters. In May 2025, U.S. Customs ordered detention of seafood harvested by the vessel on forced-labor grounds.", "findings": [ { "text": "The Outlaw Ocean Project identifies Zhen Fa 7 by IMO 8776966 and operator Rongcheng Wangdao Ocean Aquatic Products. Its reporting connects Indonesian crew members Daniel Aritonang and Heri Kusmanto to illness, alleged violence and delayed medical care during the vessel’s South American voyage.", "sources": [ "S43", "S45" ] }, { "text": "The crew investigation described recruitment debt, retained identity documents and financial penalties for leaving. Those mechanisms matter because a worker can be unable to exit even without a locked door. The operator denied abuse and withheld wages in its published reply.", "sources": [ "S44", "S45" ] }, { "text": "Effective 28 May 2025, CBP instructed U.S. ports to detain seafood harvested by Zhen Fa 7. The order rests on information reasonably indicating forced labor, a different evidentiary threshold from a criminal conviction. Importers may seek to establish admissibility under the procedures in the notice.", "sources": [ "S42" ] } ], "why": "This is a direct bridge between working conditions at sea and access to a major consumer market. A vessel-specific border measure can follow cargo beyond the port where it first lands. But tracing goods through a carrier, processor and importer still requires transaction-level evidence; a supplier relationship is not proof that every downstream product contains this vessel’s catch.", "limits": "The reviewed materials do not establish a final criminal judgment against the captain or operator, a complete remedy for the affected families, or the contents of any particular retail package. The May 2025 import order is verified; a current official modification check is still needed before treating its status as real-time advice.", "stateNexus": "The vessel’s Chinese flag and operator are documented. These records do not establish that the Chinese state directed the alleged abuse. The U.S. import response is a separate state action.", "response": "Rongcheng Wangdao told the reporters it had investigated and found no support for the alleged mistreatment, violence or withheld salaries. That denial remains attached to this file; CBP subsequently issued its own administrative import order.", "responseSources": [ "S44", "S42" ], "entityIds": [ "E30", "E31" ], "timeline": [ { "date": "2020–2021", "title": "A voyage across South American fisheries", "detail": "Reporting traces illness and requests for medical help during a Pacific-to-Atlantic voyage.", "sources": [ "S45" ] }, { "date": "2023", "title": "The operator responds", "detail": "Published correspondence records questions from investigators and the company’s denial.", "sources": [ "S44" ] }, { "date": "2025-05-28", "title": "Seafood subject to detention", "detail": "CBP issues its vessel-specific Withhold Release Order.", "sources": [ "S42" ] } ], "reviewed": "2026-09-08", "featured": false, "kind": "case", "relation": "Western Hemisphere core", "sourceIds": [ "S43", "S45", "S44", "S42" ] }, { "id": "C20", "slug": "hong-pu-16", "title": "Hong Pu 16: the seizure, the cargo and the money collected", "titleEs": "Hong Pu 16: captura, cargamento y pagos recaudados", "place": "Argentina / Puerto Madryn and Bahía Blanca", "region": "atlantic", "status": "Administrative sanction and payment", "topics": [ "catch", "identity", "enforcement" ], "period": "May–June 2020; parliamentary follow-up in 2021", "countryIds": [ "argentina" ], "summary": "Argentina’s records go beyond the pursuit of a squid vessel: they report an administrative penalty, cargo compensation and money actually collected.", "findings": [ { "text": "The Argentine Navy says it detected the Chinese-flagged Hong Pu 16 fishing without permission on 4 May 2020. It reported the AIS switched off, an attempted departure toward the high seas and a boarding after pursuit. This account combines direct inspection with tracking observations rather than relying on an AIS gap alone.", "sources": [ "S39" ] }, { "text": "A later government report to Congress records AR$50,394,450.96 collected for the fine, cargo and operating costs. Its detailed account says the initial AR$10 million fine was reduced to AR$7.5 million under the statutory payment provision, and reports payment on 12 June.", "sources": [ "S40" ] }, { "text": "The first Navy account described 300 tonnes of frozen squid and 700 kg fresh. The later parliamentary account used approximately 212 tonnes for the forfeiture calculation. These are different official cargo figures; the site does not add them together or present the first estimate as the settled quantity.", "sources": [ "S39", "S40" ] } ], "why": "Following the payment changes the story from a dramatic intercept to measurable enforcement. It also shows why headlines quoting only the fine miss cargo-value recovery and operational expenses. Amounts are historical Argentine pesos, and their deterrent value cannot be judged by converting them at today’s exchange rate.", "limits": "The underlying inspection inventory and final administrative instruments are not reproduced in the reviewed sources. The cargo discrepancy remains explicit. No final criminal conviction is claimed, and later vessel operation is not independently traced here.", "stateNexus": "Chinese flag registration connects the vessel to a flag state; it does not establish a state order to fish illegally. The documented action in this file is Argentine enforcement.", "response": "The parliamentary report describes the sanction and receipts. A separately attributable owner or captain statement was not located. The official cargo estimates are reported side by side rather than silently harmonized.", "responseSources": [ "S40" ], "entityIds": [ "E32" ], "timeline": [ { "date": "2020-05-04", "title": "Detection and boarding", "detail": "The Navy reports a fishing violation followed by pursuit and inspection.", "sources": [ "S39" ] }, { "date": "2020-06-12", "title": "Payment reported", "detail": "The later government account records payment of the reduced fine and cargo substitute value.", "sources": [ "S40" ] }, { "date": "2021", "title": "Financial follow-up", "detail": "Informe 130 reports the total collected and supplies a different cargo estimate.", "sources": [ "S40" ] } ], "reviewed": "2026-09-08", "featured": false, "kind": "case", "relation": "Western Hemisphere core", "sourceIds": [ "S39", "S40" ] }, { "id": "C21", "slug": "lu-rong-yuan-yu-668", "title": "Lu Rong Yuan Yu 668: a pursuit followed by a negotiated return", "titleEs": "Lu Rong Yuan Yu 668: de la persecución al regreso a puerto", "place": "Argentina / Puerto Madryn", "region": "atlantic", "status": "Administrative sanction and payment", "topics": [ "catch", "enforcement", "finance" ], "period": "28 April–29 May 2020; 2021 follow-up", "countryIds": [ "argentina" ], "summary": "The fishing vessel escaped the initial boarding attempt, then returned to Argentine jurisdiction after contact with its operator and Chinese authorities.", "findings": [ { "text": "Prefectura’s contemporaneous announcement dates detection to 28 April 2020 and the escort into Argentine waters to 13 May. It describes deployed fishing gear, unanswered radio calls and a departure toward the high seas. Administrative and judicial proceedings followed.", "sources": [ "S41" ] }, { "text": "Informe 130 identifies the paying company as Rongcheng City Rongyuan Fishery Co. Ltd. and reports a total of AR$34,805,847.83 collected for the fine, cargo and enforcement costs. A separate detailed response records a 25% reduction of the original AR$20 million fine and payment on 29 May.", "sources": [ "S40" ] }, { "text": "The same report describes contact with Chinese diplomatic authorities before the vessel entered Puerto Madryn. This is a documented instance of cross-border cooperation producing submission to jurisdiction, not proof that every pursuit requires a dangerous physical interception.", "sources": [ "S40" ] } ], "why": "An enforcement system can combine observation, evidence preservation, contact with an operator and diplomatic cooperation. This case also separates the roles of a ship, its company and the flag state. A fine paid by a company is a firmer outcome than a press announcement that a vessel may face penalties.", "limits": "Government accounts contain small differences in component costs and some retrospective chronology. This file uses the dated escort announcement and the parliamentary total. The final disposition of the resistance-to-authority proceeding was not obtained; an administrative payment is not described as a criminal conviction.", "stateNexus": "The reviewed account records Chinese diplomatic cooperation in the vessel’s return. It does not establish Chinese government direction of the fishing violation.", "response": "Argentina reports that company representatives accepted the administrative procedure and paid. No separate operator statement was located. An older retrospective enforcement page refers to March 2020; the contemporaneous release and parliamentary account establish April–May.", "responseSources": [ "S40", "S41" ], "entityIds": [ "E33", "E34" ], "timeline": [ { "date": "2020-04-28", "title": "Fishing activity detected", "detail": "Prefectura reports detection and pursuit.", "sources": [ "S41" ] }, { "date": "2020-05-13", "title": "Return to jurisdiction", "detail": "The vessel is escorted toward Puerto Madryn.", "sources": [ "S41", "S40" ] }, { "date": "2020-05-29", "title": "Company payment", "detail": "The detailed parliamentary account records payment and eventual release.", "sources": [ "S40" ] } ], "reviewed": "2026-09-08", "featured": false, "kind": "case", "relation": "Western Hemisphere core", "sourceIds": [ "S41", "S40" ] }, { "id": "C22", "slug": "run-da-608", "title": "Run Da 608: a squid seizure becomes a criminal trial", "titleEs": "Run Da 608: del decomiso de pota al juicio penal", "place": "Peru / Áncash and Chimbote", "region": "pacific", "status": "Seizure; prosecution referred to trial", "topics": [ "catch", "enforcement", "finance" ], "period": "2018 seizure; October 2020 prosecution update", "countryIds": [ "peru" ], "summary": "Peruvian authorities seized squid and later sought a criminal sentence for the captain. The distinction between that request and an actual verdict is central to the record.", "findings": [ { "text": "Peru’s production ministry announced the seizure of 19 tonnes of squid from the Chinese vessel Run Da 608 in Áncash in 2018, describing it as illegally caught. Several national agencies participated in the investigation.", "sources": [ "S46" ] }, { "text": "On 23 October 2020, the Public Ministry announced that captain Zhuang Hanbo would face oral trial for alleged illegal extraction of aquatic species in prohibited waters. Prosecutors connected the case to a 2018 complaint about squid fishing inside Peru’s maritime zone.", "sources": [ "S47" ] }, { "text": "The prosecutor requested three years and four months of imprisonment and S/71,250 in civil reparation, the latter jointly with Zhoushan Zhongju Ocean Fisheries. These were requested outcomes; the announcement does not establish that the court imposed them.", "sources": [ "S47" ] } ], "why": "This file exposes the gap between seizure announcements and judicial accountability. It gives the public a named captain, company and prosecuting office to follow, while keeping the trial threshold separate from proof of guilt. A future judgment could materially change the file and should be added with its appeal status.", "limits": "A final criminal judgment, any appellate ruling and proof of compensation payment were not obtained. Vessel aliases reported elsewhere should not be merged into this record without stable identifiers and a dated registry chain.", "stateNexus": "The official prosecution identifies a Chinese captain and named fishing company. It does not establish a government order, fraudulent nationality registration or guilt of the entire crew.", "response": "The reviewed ministry and prosecution releases do not contain an attributable defense response. The captain’s presumption of innocence is preserved for the unresolved criminal proceeding; the requested sentence is not called a conviction.", "responseSources": [ "S47" ], "entityIds": [ "E35", "E36", "E37" ], "timeline": [ { "date": "2018", "title": "Squid seized", "detail": "Peru’s ministry announces the 19-tonne seizure.", "sources": [ "S46" ] }, { "date": "2020-10-23", "title": "Oral-trial stage announced", "detail": "Prosecutors identify the captain and requested penalties.", "sources": [ "S47" ] } ], "reviewed": "2026-09-08", "featured": false, "kind": "case", "relation": "Western Hemisphere core", "sourceIds": [ "S46", "S47" ] }, { "id": "C23", "slug": "tai-an-toothfish", "title": "Tai An: juvenile toothfish, disputed gear records and mismatched labels", "titleEs": "Tai An: merluza negra juvenil, artes declaradas y etiquetas discordantes", "place": "Argentina / Ushuaia and the southern shelf", "region": "atlantic", "status": "Scientific findings; criminal investigation", "topics": [ "catch", "trade", "identity", "finance", "enforcement" ], "period": "2023–2024 catches; 2024 investigation; 2025 dispute", "countryIds": [ "argentina" ], "summary": "The record reaches beyond an excessive catch allegation: fisheries scientists found discrepancies in gear reporting, while prosecutors reported labels that did not match inspected contents.", "findings": [ { "text": "INIDEP’s July 2024 analysis used official catch declarations and onboard observer data for Tai An. It concluded that some 2023–2024 catches recorded as taken with midwater gear should have been recorded as bottom trawling, which would contravene the cited protection-area rule. The scientists recommended retaining the incidental-catch cap.", "sources": [ "S49" ] }, { "text": "In May 2024, federal prosecutors described an investigation into juvenile toothfish catches during the February–March voyage. They also reported that a 21 March inspection found some packaging labels inconsistent with the contents. They sought ownership records and expert evidence to establish the extent and reversibility of environmental harm.", "sources": [ "S48" ] }, { "text": "Tai An is an Argentine-registered vessel of Prodesur, associated in local reporting with Chinese-born entrepreneur Liu Zhijiang. Prodesur characterized the toothfish catch as incidental. Later reporting describes an administrative penalty and continuing quota litigation, which are distinct from a final criminal ruling.", "sources": [ "S50", "S73", "S49" ] } ], "why": "A locally flagged ship can require scrutiny without any allegation that the flag itself is false. This case joins three evidence systems: scientific observers, catch declarations and physical product inspection. When they disagree, tracing the precise haul, gear and lot is more useful than assigning responsibility from a flag or a company’s nationality.", "limits": "The prosecutor’s news release omits the vessel’s name; this file links it to Tai An through matching voyage dates and corroborating scientific and local reporting. The final criminal judgment, original sanction instrument and full chain of custody for the mismatched cartons were not obtained. Reported political-influence and bribery claims are not adopted as findings.", "stateNexus": "A Chinese-born owner’s involvement does not make an Argentine vessel a Chinese state operation. No state direction of the alleged conduct is established in these sources.", "response": "Prodesur’s reported defense was incidental capture rather than directed toothfish fishing. INIDEP’s analysis challenges the gear and catch explanation. The subsequent quota complaint is reported as a disputed claim, not proof of corruption.", "responseSources": [ "S50", "S49" ], "entityIds": [ "E38", "E39", "E40" ], "timeline": [ { "date": "2024-02–2024-03", "title": "Voyage under examination", "detail": "The catch and gear used during the voyage become the focus of scientific and enforcement reviews.", "sources": [ "S48", "S49" ] }, { "date": "2024-05-31", "title": "Prosecutors seek expert evidence", "detail": "The Public Ministry describes the investigation and packaging discrepancies.", "sources": [ "S48" ] }, { "date": "2024-07-29", "title": "Scientific analysis published", "detail": "INIDEP compares catch declarations, observers’ information and gear types.", "sources": [ "S49" ] }, { "date": "2025-06-09", "title": "Quota dispute continues", "detail": "Reporting describes Prodesur’s later challenge; this does not settle the environmental case.", "sources": [ "S50" ] } ], "reviewed": "2026-09-08", "featured": false, "kind": "case", "relation": "Western Hemisphere core", "sourceIds": [ "S49", "S48", "S50", "S73" ] }, { "id": "C24", "slug": "peru-postal-shark-fins", "title": "Shark fins in the mail: the Yuelin Gan Cao conviction", "titleEs": "Aletas por encomienda: la condena de Yuelin Gan Cao", "place": "Peru / Ilo and Lima → Hong Kong", "region": "markets", "status": "Conviction reported by prosecutors", "topics": [ "trade", "catch", "enforcement" ], "period": "July 2019 inspection; April 2023 conviction", "countryIds": [ "peru" ], "summary": "A postal route linked Peru’s southern coast to a planned Hong Kong export. Prosecutors reported a five-year prison sentence after identifying protected shark products.", "findings": [ { "text": "Peruvian prosecutors reported that Yuelin Gan Cao acquired and moved 65.88 kg of dried shark fins from Ilo to Lima through the postal system, intending to export them to Hong Kong. The planned export used three postal consignments.", "sources": [ "S51", "S52" ] }, { "text": "The follow-up release dates the customs inspection at Serpost’s Los Olivos premises to 25 July 2019. It states that the attempted shipment lacked the permit, license or valid certificate needed to establish legal origin and traceability.", "sources": [ "S52" ] }, { "text": "The Public Ministry announced a five-year custodial sentence and monetary orders, including S/14,146 in civil reparation. A forensic assessment estimated the fins represented 32 protected sharks; the record does not establish that Gan Cao personally caught or killed them.", "sources": [ "S51", "S52" ] } ], "why": "Wildlife trafficking is not confined to container ships or fishing vessels. Small parcel channels connect coastal acquisition, inland consolidation and an overseas market. The case demonstrates the value of species identification and documentary traceability at the point of dispatch.", "limits": "The underlying judgment, appeal history and collection of the monetary orders were not obtained. The reviewed releases do not name the eventual Hong Kong buyer or prove wrongdoing by Serpost. Its premises were the inspection location, not evidence that the postal service was a conspirator.", "stateNexus": "The prosecutor identifies Gan Cao as a Chinese citizen and Hong Kong as the intended destination. Neither fact establishes Chinese government involvement.", "response": "The conviction is reported by the prosecuting institution. The two official accounts add different detail; no separately attributable defense statement or subsequent appellate decision was located.", "responseSources": [ "S51", "S52" ], "entityIds": [ "E41" ], "timeline": [ { "date": "2019-07-25", "title": "Postal inspection", "detail": "Customs personnel inspect the consignment at Los Olivos.", "sources": [ "S52" ] }, { "date": "2023-04-21", "title": "Sentence announced", "detail": "The Public Ministry reports five years’ imprisonment and monetary orders.", "sources": [ "S51" ] }, { "date": "2023-04-25", "title": "Route and inspection details added", "detail": "A second official release identifies the intended Hong Kong export.", "sources": [ "S52" ] } ], "reviewed": "2026-09-08", "featured": false, "kind": "case", "relation": "Western Hemisphere core", "sourceIds": [ "S51", "S52" ] }, { "id": "C25", "slug": "ecuador-hong-kong-fins", "title": "Two containers from Ecuador, 26 tonnes of suspected protected shark fins", "titleEs": "Dos contenedores de Ecuador y 26 toneladas de aletas presuntamente protegidas", "place": "Ecuador → Hong Kong", "region": "markets", "status": "Customs seizures; outcome unresolved", "topics": [ "trade", "catch", "enforcement" ], "period": "April–May 2020 seizures; October 2020 scientific follow-up", "countryIds": [ "ecuador" ], "summary": "Hong Kong Customs intercepted two Ecuador-origin shipments. The record establishes the trade route and seizures—not which fishing boats supplied the fins.", "findings": [ { "text": "Hong Kong Customs reported inspecting two containers arriving from Ecuador on 28 April and 4 May 2020. Each held approximately 13 tonnes of suspected scheduled dried shark fins mixed with non-scheduled fins. One suspect was arrested and released on bail pending investigation.", "sources": [ "S53" ] }, { "text": "Researchers at Florida International University described the use of species-identification tools in customs enforcement and wider genetic work locating the eastern Pacific as a major supply region for threatened sharks. That research helps distinguish a biological source region from a commercial shipment’s point of departure.", "sources": [ "S54" ] } ], "why": "The commercial chain can be investigated even when the catching vessel is unknown. Export permits, species composition, container records and recipient records are the next links. A seizure at the destination also demonstrates that Chinese-linked trade routes can involve enforcement by Hong Kong authorities, not only failures of control.", "limits": "No final judgment for the unnamed suspect was obtained. Ecuadorian shipping origin does not prove the sharks were caught in the Galápagos, by Chinese vessels, or in a particular country’s waters. The two container weights are approximate, and a regional genetic study cannot establish an individual cargo’s complete chain of custody.", "stateNexus": "The verified connection is a shipment route from Ecuador to Hong Kong and a Hong Kong customs action. The record does not establish Chinese government direction of the trade.", "response": "Customs explicitly said both investigations were ongoing in May 2020. The release did not identify the importer by name or include an attributable response; the file retains that unresolved posture.", "responseSources": [ "S53" ], "entityIds": [], "timeline": [ { "date": "2020-04-28", "title": "First container inspected", "detail": "Customs reports approximately 13 tonnes of suspected scheduled fins.", "sources": [ "S53" ] }, { "date": "2020-05-04", "title": "Second container inspected", "detail": "A second similar seizure brings the reported combined weight to about 26 tonnes.", "sources": [ "S53" ] }, { "date": "2020-10-13", "title": "Research follow-up", "detail": "FIU describes scientific tools for identifying threatened shark products.", "sources": [ "S54" ] } ], "reviewed": "2026-09-08", "featured": false, "kind": "case", "relation": "Western Hemisphere core", "sourceIds": [ "S53", "S54" ] }, { "id": "C26", "slug": "totoaba-drying-house", "title": "The drying house behind a totoaba border seizure", "titleEs": "La casa de secado detrás de un decomiso de totoaba", "place": "Mexico / Gulf of California → United States", "region": "markets", "status": "Federal sentencing", "topics": [ "trade", "catch", "enforcement" ], "period": "April 2013 discovery; August 2014 sentence", "countryIds": [ "mexico" ], "summary": "A border inspection led investigators to a Calexico house used to dry endangered fish products. The sentencing record reveals processing and consolidation beyond the initial smuggling trip.", "findings": [ { "text": "In August 2014, DOJ reported a one-year prison sentence for Song Shen Zhen and US$120,500 in restitution ordered to Mexico’s environmental protection agency. The case concerned endangered totoaba swim bladders smuggled from Mexico.", "sources": [ "S55" ] }, { "text": "The sentencing account separates 27 bladders discovered in a vehicle from 214 later found at a sparsely furnished house. Fans, drying rows and packing materials indicated preparation for further distribution. Evidence pointed to overseas shipping, but the release does not identify the final foreign buyer.", "sources": [ "S55" ] }, { "text": "The earlier charging release placed the trade in the context of demand for fish maw in Chinese markets. NOAA separately describes the threat totoaba gillnets pose to vaquita in the Gulf of California. That ecological relationship is not proof that this particular shipment caused a vaquita death.", "sources": [ "S56", "S57" ] } ], "why": "This is a processing and distribution vignette, not simply an illegal-catch story. A modest house and ordinary packing equipment can connect a poached marine species to international commerce. The record also shows why cargo quantity, route and actual sentence should replace speculative black-market valuations in an accountability account.", "limits": "Restitution was ordered; actual receipt was not verified. No Chinese state role, named overseas customer or particular fishing vessel is established. The verified route is Mexico to the United States, with evidence consistent with onward overseas distribution. The defendant’s nationality is not inferred from his name.", "stateNexus": "The Chinese connection is the market context identified by DOJ, not proven direction or participation by the Chinese government. The convicted conduct in this file took place in the Mexico–U.S. supply chain.", "response": "DOJ’s sentencing account is the primary outcome source. It supersedes inconsistent details in the initial charging announcement. A separately published defense response was not located.", "responseSources": [ "S55", "S56" ], "entityIds": [ "E42" ], "timeline": [ { "date": "2013-04-10", "title": "Border search and surveillance", "detail": "The later sentencing record dates the vehicle discovery and ensuing house search to this day.", "sources": [ "S55" ] }, { "date": "2013-04-24", "title": "Wider trade investigation announced", "detail": "DOJ describes several separate totoaba cases and the overseas market.", "sources": [ "S56" ] }, { "date": "2014-08-11", "title": "Sentence and restitution announced", "detail": "DOJ reports the prison term and payment order.", "sources": [ "S55" ] } ], "reviewed": "2026-09-08", "featured": false, "kind": "case", "relation": "Western Hemisphere core", "sourceIds": [ "S55", "S56", "S57" ] }, { "id": "C27", "slug": "lu-qing-yuan-yu-901", "title": "Promised factory jobs, placed aboard a fishing vessel", "titleEs": "Empleos de fábrica prometidos, trabajo a bordo de un pesquero", "place": "Indonesia / recruitment and the Malacca Strait", "region": "connections", "status": "Survivor accounts; police investigation", "topics": [ "labor", "identity", "enforcement" ], "period": "June 2020 escape and recruitment investigation", "countryIds": [], "relation": "Cross-ocean comparison: recruitment mechanism", "summary": "Two Indonesian men reportedly escaped Lu Qing Yuan Yu 901 after alleged abuse. Police inquiries extended ashore to recruiters and purported seafarer certificates.", "findings": [ { "text": "ANTARA reported that two Indonesian crew members, Reynalfi and Andri Juniansyah, jumped from a Chinese-flagged vessel on 5 June 2020 and were rescued by local fishers after hours in the water. Their accounts described excessive work, inadequate food and water, intimidation and violence.", "sources": [ "S58" ] }, { "text": "The Jakarta Post reported a police statement naming three recruiter suspects in the alleged trafficking case. The investigation concerned promises of factory work in South Korea followed by placement on a fishing vessel, recruitment costs and unpaid work. Police also investigated purportedly forged seafarer training certificates.", "sources": [ "S59" ] }, { "text": "The mechanism spans more than one jurisdiction and more than the ship’s crew: a promised job, recruitment paperwork, departure, placement and the inability to leave. The reviewed reporting supports scrutiny of that chain, but it does not establish the criminal liability of every recruiter or the vessel’s owner.", "sources": [ "S58", "S59" ] } ], "why": "Recruitment is a point at which exploitation can be prevented or investigated before a ship leaves port. Matching the promised occupation to the actual contract and placement is as important as checking a vessel’s flag. This comparison helps explain questions to ask of recruiting chains serving fleets in the Americas; it is not evidence that this vessel operated there.", "limits": "A complete final judgment and appeal record for the recruiter case were not obtained. A court-document mirror was found as a lead but not used to attribute guilt without a verified original and identity match. This episode must not be merged with separate Long Xing burial cases or other similarly named Lu Qing Yuan Yu vessels.", "stateNexus": "Chinese flag and crew connections are reported, but a Chinese government instruction to exploit these workers is not established. Indonesian authorities investigated alleged recruiter conduct ashore.", "response": "The cited reporting records investigative and diplomatic steps, not a completed trial. A specific operator response for this vessel was not located. Broader Chinese responses concerning other vessels are not substituted for one here.", "responseSources": [ "S58", "S59" ], "entityIds": [ "E43" ], "timeline": [ { "date": "2020-06-05", "title": "Escape and rescue reported", "detail": "Two men leave the vessel and are rescued by local fishers.", "sources": [ "S58" ] }, { "date": "2020-06-16", "title": "Recruiter investigation reported", "detail": "Police inquiries extend to job placement and alleged certificate forgery.", "sources": [ "S59" ] } ], "reviewed": "2026-09-08", "featured": false, "kind": "case", "sourceIds": [ "S58", "S59" ] }, { "id": "C28", "slug": "yong-xing-1-identity", "title": "One fishing trip, three country-coded AIS identities", "titleEs": "Una campaña pesquera y tres identidades AIS con códigos de país", "place": "Argentina / Peru / waters near Galápagos", "region": "pacific", "status": "Tracking-based identity analysis", "topics": [ "identity", "enforcement" ], "period": "2020 transmissions; July 2021 analysis", "countryIds": [ "argentina", "peru", "ecuador" ], "summary": "Global Fishing Watch traced Yong Xing 1 through changes in transmitted identifiers associated with China, South Korea and Argentina. That is not the same as three verified national registrations.", "findings": [ { "text": "Global Fishing Watch’s 2021 analysis describes Yong Xing 1 operating near Argentina and Peru with MMSI 412326889 until July 2020, then using 440106889 and 701006889 during later segments. Those prefixes correspond to China, South Korea and Argentina. The report describes sequential identity changes, not three simultaneous vessels.", "sources": [ "S60" ] }, { "text": "The analysis also associates the broadcast name Hong Rui 198 with parts of this track. A SPRFMO record supplies a separate identity anchor for the Chinese vessel Yong Xing 1, IMO 8776497. Names and broadcast aliases should be checked against stable hull identifiers and dated records.", "sources": [ "S60", "S72" ] } ], "why": "A database organized only by broadcast name or MMSI can fragment one voyage into several apparent vessels. Readers need to see the identity chain and the confidence of each match. This is a concrete identity-risk example, while the legal question of fraudulent registration requires evidence from the relevant flag administrations.", "limits": "The report supports a tracking attribution, not a final fraud ruling. It does not establish that Argentina or South Korea actually registered the ship, that every position was false, or who configured the equipment. The archived 2020 identity should not be mistaken for a current authorization.", "stateNexus": "The investigated vessel is identified as Chinese-flagged. Transmitting another country’s MMSI prefix does not establish that country’s participation, permission or government control.", "response": "An operator explanation or subsequent official adjudication of these specific transmissions was not located. The case is therefore labeled as an analytical finding, not a proven fraudulent-flag registration.", "responseSources": [ "S60" ], "entityIds": [ "E44" ], "timeline": [ { "date": "2020-07", "title": "Broadcast identity changes", "detail": "The analysis identifies a transition between country-coded MMSI values during the voyage.", "sources": [ "S60" ] }, { "date": "2021-07", "title": "Analysis published", "detail": "GFW presents the sequence as part of a wider identity assessment.", "sources": [ "S60" ] } ], "reviewed": "2026-09-08", "featured": false, "kind": "case", "relation": "Western Hemisphere core", "sourceIds": [ "S60", "S72" ] }, { "id": "C29", "slug": "refused-inspections-2022", "title": "When China instructed two vessels to refuse inspection", "titleEs": "Cuando China ordenó a dos buques rechazar una inspección", "place": "Southeast Pacific / SPRFMO; decision in Manta, Ecuador", "region": "pacific", "status": "Documented state instruction; disputed compliance", "topics": [ "enforcement", "coercion", "identity" ], "period": "August 2022 refusals; February 2023 decision", "countryIds": [ "ecuador" ], "relation": "High-seas case; regional governance connection", "summary": "SPRFMO records explicitly connect two refused U.S. boardings to Chinese government instructions. They also record the decision not to put the vessels on the final IUU list.", "findings": [ { "text": "The 2023 committee record identifies Zhou Yu 929 and Pu Yuan 755 as the two Chinese-flagged vessels proposed by the United States for IUU listing after refused at-sea inspections on 4 August 2022.", "sources": [ "S62", "S61" ] }, { "text": "China told the Commission that its authorities had directed the refusals, citing its interpretation of the boarding measure. Its submission raised advance notice, registration, communication and pandemic concerns; other members disputed its legal interpretation. This is a stated government action, not an inference from ownership.", "sources": [ "S61" ] }, { "text": "The Commission did not assign China a compliance status on the disputed obligation and agreed not to include the two vessels on the final list. It adopted a more detailed boarding-and-inspection measure. The 2023 final IUU list contained no vessels.", "sources": [ "S61" ] } ], "why": "The case reveals a limit of inspection systems: access can turn on disagreement between states rather than the conduct of a captain alone. It also shows how a provisional blacklist proposal can become a misleading claim of permanent designation if the final meeting decision is omitted.", "limits": "The minutes do not adjudicate every allegation about the voyage or establish that the vessels were illegally catching fish. Refusal, alleged catch violations and dangerous navigation are separate questions. This file does not attribute a reported ramming incident to either vessel without a verified identification.", "stateNexus": "Direct and documented: China acknowledged instructing the two vessels to refuse the boardings. The legality of that instruction was disputed; the Commission chose not to assess the obligation or impose final listing in this proceeding.", "response": "China contested the inspection’s authorization and relied on its interpretation of the existing rules. Other members disagreed. Both positions and the Commission’s non-listing outcome remain part of the file.", "responseSources": [ "S61" ], "entityIds": [ "E45", "E46" ], "timeline": [ { "date": "2022-08-04", "title": "Inspections refused", "detail": "The two refused boardings are later recorded in SPRFMO proceedings.", "sources": [ "S61" ] }, { "date": "2023-02", "title": "Listing proposed", "detail": "The United States’ proposal is examined at committee stage.", "sources": [ "S62" ] }, { "date": "2023-02", "title": "Final listing declined", "detail": "The Commission records the state instruction and excludes the vessels from its final list.", "sources": [ "S61" ] } ], "reviewed": "2026-09-08", "featured": false, "kind": "case", "sourceIds": [ "S62", "S61" ] }, { "id": "C30", "slug": "damanzaihao", "title": "Damanzaihao: support services, changing owners and a later delisting", "titleEs": "Damanzaihao: servicios de apoyo, cambio de propietario y retiro de la lista", "place": "Peru / Panama / China; cross-ocean ownership history", "region": "pacific", "status": "Historical IUU listing; delisted in 2020", "topics": [ "support", "finance", "identity", "enforcement" ], "period": "2015 listing; 2018 transfer and port calls; 2020 delisting", "countryIds": [ "peru", "chile" ], "relation": "Western Hemisphere operations and port-service network", "summary": "A processing mother ship linked historically to the Pacific Andes group became an IUU-list and port-access case. Its subsequent sale and removal from the list are essential parts of the history.", "findings": [ { "text": "In 2015, the Damanzaihao listing concerned unauthorized presence and support for fishing vessels, not simply catching fish. A Pacific Andes spokesman argued that the vessel supplied authorized trawlers and that listing was disproportionate. A later U.S. bankruptcy decision identifies Damanzaihao among SFR’s assets in the group’s financial proceedings.", "sources": [ "S68", "S67" ] }, { "text": "SPRFMO’s 2019 compliance report examined services and access received by the renamed Vladivostok 2000 while it remained listed. The report includes China’s acknowledgment that the vessel entered Dalian and its undertaking to inspect it. The case demonstrates that port and support obligations can extend beyond the state where fish were caught.", "sources": [ "S63" ] }, { "text": "The 2020 committee record describes additional ownership information and Russian assurances that the new owners were not connected to the previous owners and that no SPRFMO fishing permit was intended. The Commission then removed Vladivostok 2000 from the IUU list. This was an adopted decision, not merely an owner’s request.", "sources": [ "S64", "S65" ] } ], "why": "A factory or mother ship can enable a fleet even if it does not itself deploy fishing gear. Accountability requires separating the vessel’s operating role, the company in control at the time and later owners. The same discipline prevents a historical blacklist entry from following a vessel forever as if no subsequent decision existed.", "limits": "This file does not treat the ship as currently IUU-listed or continuously Chinese-controlled. It does not resolve every Peruvian financial or environmental proceeding, or the vessel’s later Russian ownership disputes. Transfer of ownership and flag is documented as history, not automatically described as fraudulent.", "stateNexus": "The historical China-linked corporate group and subsequent Dalian port-access issue are distinct. The record does not establish that every later owner acted for the Chinese state; flag administrations’ responsibilities are assessed separately.", "response": "Pacific Andes disputed the proportionality of the original listing and emphasized the ship’s support role. Later ownership submissions were accepted through the RFMO process, resulting in delisting in 2020. Both the original conduct and later outcome are retained.", "responseSources": [ "S68", "S64", "S65" ], "entityIds": [ "E47", "E48", "E49" ], "timeline": [ { "date": "2015", "title": "Support role subject to IUU listing", "detail": "The company disputes the proportionality of the listing.", "sources": [ "S68" ] }, { "date": "2018", "title": "Sale announced", "detail": "The broker records a sale of the processing mother vessel; later RFMO proceedings review the ownership change.", "sources": [ "S66", "S64" ] }, { "date": "2019", "title": "Port services assessed", "detail": "SPRFMO examines access and services while the vessel is still listed.", "sources": [ "S63" ] }, { "date": "2020", "title": "Removed from the list", "detail": "The Commission adopts the delisting recommendation.", "sources": [ "S65" ] } ], "reviewed": "2026-09-08", "featured": false, "kind": "case", "sourceIds": [ "S68", "S67", "S63", "S64", "S65", "S66" ] }, { "id": "C31", "slug": "caseys-crab-labels", "title": "Imported crab repacked as American: the Casey’s Seafood case", "titleEs": "Cangrejo importado reenvasado como estadounidense: el caso Casey’s Seafood", "place": "United States / Virginia; imports from Asia and the Americas", "region": "markets", "status": "Federal conviction and sentencing", "topics": [ "trade", "finance", "enforcement" ], "period": "2012–2015 scheme; 2018 charge; January 2019 sentence", "countryIds": [], "relation": "Western Hemisphere market conduct; U.S. processor responsibility", "summary": "A U.S. seafood processor blended and repacked imported crab under a domestic-origin label. China was among several source countries—not the location of the proven labeling offense.", "findings": [ { "text": "DOJ’s sentencing announcement describes a scheme at Casey’s Seafood to replace or blend domestic blue crab with imported meat from China, Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, and Central and South America. Employees repacked it under labels declaring U.S. origin.", "sources": [ "S71" ] }, { "text": "The contemporaneous sentencing bulletin reports that owner James R. Casey received 45 months in prison, three years of supervised release and a US$15,000 fine on 9 January 2019. DOJ described close to 400,000 pounds of falsely labeled crab meat across the scheme.", "sources": [ "S70" ] }, { "text": "The offense concerned false labeling by the U.S. business. Neither the charging nor sentencing announcement establishes that the foreign catch was illegally harvested or that all overseas suppliers knew about the domestic repacking scheme.", "sources": [ "S69", "S71" ] } ], "why": "Following catch to market must include misconduct by buyers and processors in the Americas. Repacking can erase origin information after a lawful import and distort competition for local fishers. This case gives a concrete, adjudicated mechanism without making imported seafood itself synonymous with illegality.", "limits": "No full supplier-by-supplier chain is established. A later DOJ release about Michael Casey gives a different prison length for James; this file uses the contemporaneous sentencing bulletin. The sentence is a historical outcome, not a claim about current custody or current company operations.", "stateNexus": "China is one of several reported product-source countries. The established conduct was by a U.S. processor; no Chinese government or supplier complicity is established.", "response": "The sentencing sources describe the criminal outcome following the case. No additional defense statement is used, and the site does not transfer the U.S. processor’s conviction to unnamed foreign suppliers.", "responseSources": [ "S70", "S71" ], "entityIds": [ "E50", "E51" ], "timeline": [ { "date": "2012–2015", "title": "Origin labels falsified", "detail": "DOJ describes imported crab repacked into domestic-origin containers.", "sources": [ "S71" ] }, { "date": "2018-01-12", "title": "Charge announced", "detail": "The criminal information identifies the repacking scheme.", "sources": [ "S69" ] }, { "date": "2019-01-09", "title": "Owner sentenced", "detail": "The contemporaneous bulletin records the 45-month term.", "sources": [ "S70" ] } ], "reviewed": "2026-09-08", "featured": false, "kind": "case", "sourceIds": [ "S71", "S70", "S69" ] } ]