The public record
Read what the
research rests on.
Original decisions, official datasets, company responses and investigations. A source’s authority does not make every claim in it a final finding.
Download the source register ↓74 source entries
SC13-SQ01: Update of squid datasets held by the Secretariat ↗
2024 active-vessel table and catch/effort discussion
intergovernmental fisheries data
Access and interpretation notes
Official PDF reviewed
Active jigging vessels in Convention Area, not global fleet or illegal-vessel count; historical series can be revised.
Case 20331-2017-00179: cassation decision ↗
PDF pages 2–8; disposition page 8
judicial decision, third-party-hosted copy
Access and interpretation notes
Full PDF downloaded and extracted
Procedural history contains superseded rulings and arguments; final disposition must be distinguished from those passages. Payment ordered is not payment collected.
Treasury Targets Serious Human Rights Abuse Aboard Distant Water Fishing Vessels ↗
Dalian, Pingtan, Li Zhenyu and Xinrong Zhuo sections
official administrative designation and findings
Access and interpretation notes
Official release reviewed
Sanctions findings are not criminal convictions; current status requires separate checking.
Unseen and unaccountable: The growing threat of China’s squid fleet in the South Pacific ↗
Methodology pp. 9–10; ports pp. 18–19; labor table p. 29
NGO investigation and interviews
Access and interpretation notes
Full PDF downloaded and relevant sections reviewed
Non-random interviews; sister-ship association does not establish the same abuse. Identity counts differ from unique hull counts. Port-change motive needs separate evidence.
Associated document ↗Keeping the Lights On: Uncovering the Networks Enabling the Distant Water Squid Fleet ↗
Printed pp. 8–17; methods, carriers, support and ownership dispute
NGO corporate and maritime investigation
Access and interpretation notes
Full PDF downloaded; relevant sections and limitations reviewed
Risk-selected identities and AIS-derived events; certain ownership attribution explicitly disputed. Commercial service does not establish complicity.
Associated document ↗Environmental Crimes Section Monthly Bulletin, August 2015: Kaven Company and Kam Wing Chan ↗
Printed p. 11; PDF page 7; pleas dated 2015-07-21
official criminal-case outcome report
Access and interpretation notes
Official PDF passage reviewed
DOJ’s guilty-plea summary, not the underlying plea agreements. Later sentencing is covered separately in S35; ambiguous penalty attribution still requires the judgments.
Labour exploitation in distant water fishing vessels registered with the SPRFMO ↗
Methodology and pp. 5, 16–17
union research using port and vessel records
Access and interpretation notes
Full PDF downloaded and relevant sections reviewed
Deaths, missing crew and medical disembarkations are distinct; registration is historical, not proof of current authorization; causes vary.
Cambio de paradigma: operational enforcement account ↗
Hua Li 8 account
official enforcement narrative
Access and interpretation notes
Official page reviewed
Retrospective account; Indonesian disposition and final criminal outcome need original records. Purple Notice is distinct from judicial arrest order.
CBP Issues Withhold Release Order on Chinese Fishing Fleet ↗
Dalian fleet WRO announcement
official import-control announcement, accessible republication
Access and interpretation notes
Original unavailable during check; contemporaneous republication reviewed
Historical action verified; current WRO status not independently verified.
Associated document ↗10 crew dead on Chinese tuna fleet supplying Japan ↗
Recruitment, worker accounts and Indonesian case outcomes
original investigative reporting
Access and interpretation notes
Investigation reviewed
Headline covers multiple vessels. Reported convictions concern either trafficking or unlawful recruitment; original judgments not obtained.
Current Specially Designated Nationals CSV: five selected entries ↗
IDs 33674, 33675, 33680, 33768, 33770
live official sanctions dataset
Access and interpretation notes
CSV downloaded at 2026-09-08T23:56:27Z; selected-match receipt preserved
Verifies only selected entries as of retrieval; not a current census of all linked vessels or sanctions exposure.
Associated document ↗Pingtan Marine Enterprise statement, SEC exhibit 99.1 ↗
Compliance assertions and response to OFAC designation
company response in regulatory filing
Access and interpretation notes
SEC-filed text reviewed
An interested party’s account; does not independently resolve government findings.
Perú intensificó la fiscalización de embarcaciones extranjeras que ingresan a su mar ↗
DS 014-2024-PRODUCE and satellite monitoring
official policy explanation
Access and interpretation notes
Official text available through search index; direct access intermittently blocked
Not a consolidated current legal text; distinguish exceptions, implementation and subsequent amendments.
Taking Over From the Inside: China’s Growing Reach Into Local Waters ↗
Argentina ownership and flagging-in sections
original ownership and fisheries investigation
Access and interpretation notes
Investigation reviewed
At least 62 industrial vessels is not an all-squid or offender count. Domestic flagging can be lawful; original licenses needed for specific illegality claims.
Bait to Plate: Wei Yu 18 ↗
IMO 8782587; operator and labor-event entries
investigative vessel dossier
Access and interpretation notes
Vessel record reviewed
Attributed reporting, not a conviction established here. Current registry and any issued import restriction need separate verification.
UFLPA Entity List notice, document 2024-12631 ↗
Shandong Meijia Group / Rizhao Meijia Group
official administrative listing
Access and interpretation notes
Official notice reviewed
Establishes 2024 listing; live current list not independently verified. Labor-transfer criteria are separate from catch legality.
Furniture Company Used as a Front for International Fish Smuggling Operation ↗
Kaven commercial-concealment and trade-route allegations
official indictment announcement
Access and interpretation notes
Official release reviewed
Indictment-stage statements; use S06 for the later guilty-plea outcome.
The South China Sea Arbitration: Press Release No. 11 ↗
Printed p. 10: Chinese activities and marine environment
official tribunal award summary
Access and interpretation notes
Official summary findings reviewed; full award accessed through web, direct download blocked
Tribunal conclusions must be distinguished from party submissions; no adjudication of land sovereignty. Not an Americas fleet case.
Associated document ↗Pulling Back the Curtain on China’s Maritime Militia ↗
Methods and vessel-role identification
specialized maritime-role investigation
Access and interpretation notes
Research landing material reviewed
Cannot project identified South China Sea roles onto distant-water ships without vessel-specific evidence.
Indonesian officials’ accounts of Kway Fey / Natuna incident ↗
Susi Pudjiastuti and foreign ministry statements
reporting quoting official participants
Access and interpretation notes
Accounts reviewed
Party accounts relayed by news agency; compare S21 and seek primary operational records.
Associated document ↗Foreign ministry remarks on fishing-vessel incident near Natuna ↗
Kway Fey incident response
official party response
Access and interpretation notes
Official account reviewed
Interested state account; traditional-grounds assertion is not an independent legal determination.
CMM 18-2026: Management of the jumbo flying squid fishery ↗
Authorizations, limits and monitoring provisions
adopted conservation and management measure
Access and interpretation notes
Downloaded from official current measures collection
Use adopted-list provenance; do not confuse cap with active-vessel count or rely on an earlier draft.
Associated document ↗CMM 12-2024: Transhipment, consequential changes 2026 ↗
Authorization and reporting provisions
conservation and management measure
Access and interpretation notes
Official PDF downloaded and reviewed
Transfer legality depends on applicable rules and event facts; not all transshipment is prohibited.
Decision 18-2024 on labour standards ↗
Decision text
intergovernmental decision
Access and interpretation notes
Official PDF reviewed
Do not equate this instrument with a binding CMM, a national law or universal ratification of ILO C188.
Fraudulent registration and fraudulent registries of ships ↗
Definitions of fraudulent registration
official legal-policy explanation
Access and interpretation notes
Official explanation reviewed
Defines conduct; does not establish an offense by any named ship in this dossier.
Who Controls the Distant Water Squid Fishing Fleet? ↗
Jing Yuan 626 discussion, printed pp. 15–16
ownership and vessel-risk research
Access and interpretation notes
Full PDF downloaded and relevant sections reviewed
Risk-selected sample is not fleet prevalence; the Jing Yuan legal outcome requires primary corroboration.
Suspicious behavior and vessel tracks: interpretation limitations ↗
Tracking gaps and behavioral inference
data-provider methodology
Access and interpretation notes
Methodological explanation reviewed
Behavioral signals are not findings of illegality.
API v3 data caveats ↗
Identity and activity limitations
technical data documentation
Access and interpretation notes
Documentation reviewed
Modeled observations and reporting coverage require interpretation; not a complete vessel census.
Questions and answers on business and forced labour ↗
Forced-labor definition and indicators
official labor-standard guidance
Access and interpretation notes
Official guidance reviewed
Indicators assist investigation, not automatic criminal adjudication.
Seafood Import Monitoring Program ↗
13 seafood groups and program coverage
official program scope
Access and interpretation notes
Official program body reviewed
SIMP scope is not the scope of every U.S. import, wildlife or labor law.
Port State Measures ↗
Port-state role
official institutional framework
Access and interpretation notes
Institutional resource reviewed
Country participation and national powers require current jurisdiction-specific checks.
Latin America program and regional work ↗
Regional work and tracking resources
existing tools and regional research resource
Access and interpretation notes
Resource reviewed for existing-solutions preflight
Link to original tools; confirm dataset licensing and attribution before reuse.
China: The Superpower of Seafood ↗
Original investigations and supply-chain reporting
investigation collection
Access and interpretation notes
Collection reviewed for research and existing-solutions preflight
A collection is not independent corroboration of its own individual articles; substantial reporting and media remain the publisher’s work.
La Justicia pidió la captura internacional de cinco buques chinos ↗
Capture order and account of obstruction
official record
Access and interpretation notes
Original public record reviewed
An official enforcement account and order, not a final conviction.
Environmental Crimes Section Monthly Bulletin: Kaven sentencing ↗
Printed p. 15; sentencing 5 October 2015
official record
Access and interpretation notes
Original public record reviewed
Confirms sentencing and restitution. Bulletin repeats the individual’s name in two penalty descriptions; obtain judgments before assigning every component.
China’s ministry notice on distant-water fishing violations and administrative measures ↗
Notice 农办渔〔2018〕12号; PDF pp. 61–63; sections I, VIII and IX
official record
Access and interpretation notes
Original public record reviewed
English summaries translated from the Chinese notice. Administrative findings and ordered measures are not proof of implementation or current vessel status.
Pingtan Marine Enterprise: 2013 Form 10-K ↗
Off-balance-sheet arrangements; related-party guarantees and collateral
company regulatory filing
Access and interpretation notes
Original public record reviewed
Historical company disclosure. Financing is not evidence of lender participation in an offense; dollar figures differ between sections, so the site does not aggregate them.
SDN vessel snapshot: Global Magnitsky entries ↗
Vessel entries in GLOMAG program; extraction rule and timestamp preserved
official sanctions dataset
Access and interpretation notes
Public CSV downloaded; 157 selected vessel rows parsed
Sanctions-listed vessel records, not the whole Chinese fleet; listed identity and flag are not independently verified current registry data. No present position inferred.
El patrullero oceánico ARA Bouchard arribó a Puerto Belgrano ↗
Detection and boarding on 4 May 2020
official enforcement account
Access and interpretation notes
Original public source reviewed during September 2026 expansion
Initial cargo estimate differs from the later parliamentary report; enforcement narrative is not a criminal judgment.
Informe 130 a la Cámara de Diputados ↗
PDF p. 119 and pp. 1143–1144; 2020 seizures, payments and releases
official parliamentary accountability report
Access and interpretation notes
Original public source reviewed during September 2026 expansion
Totals and component amounts vary slightly between responses. Use reported totals, not a newly calculated aggregate; historical Argentine pesos, not current values.
Prefectura escolta hacia mar territorial argentino a un buque infractor ↗
Lu Rong Yuan Yu 668: 28 April detection and 13 May escort
official enforcement account
Access and interpretation notes
Original public source reviewed during September 2026 expansion
Contemporaneous investigation announcement; subsequent payment is established separately in S40.
CSMS 65176258: Withhold Release Order on Seafood Harvested by Zhen Fa 7 ↗
Effective date, reasonable-indication standard and importer challenge procedures
official import-control notice
Access and interpretation notes
Original public source reviewed during September 2026 expansion
Historical WRO issuance, not a criminal conviction or a determination about every customer; subsequent modification status needs a fresh official list check.
Zhen Fa 7: vessel record ↗
Operator, IMO 8776966, crew case notes and linked processing network
original investigative vessel database
Access and interpretation notes
Original public source reviewed during September 2026 expansion
Reported findings, not a judgment. Commercial links do not prove a particular retail product contains this vessel’s catch.
Rongcheng Wangdao Dayang Aquatic Products: correspondence ↗
February–August 2023 questions and company denial
published right-of-reply correspondence
Access and interpretation notes
Original public source reviewed during September 2026 expansion
The company response is a party statement; reporters’ questions are allegations, not independent findings.
A Fleet Prone to Captive Labor and Plunder ↗
Daniel Aritonang, Heri Kusmanto, recruitment contracts and South American voyage
original investigative reporting
Access and interpretation notes
Original public source reviewed during September 2026 expansion
Interviews and documentary reporting; medical and illegal-fishing inferences require attribution. AIS gaps alone do not establish an incursion.
Ministerio de la Producción decomisa 19 toneladas de pota de una embarcación china ↗
Run Da 608 seizure in Áncash
official seizure announcement
Access and interpretation notes
Original public source reviewed during September 2026 expansion
Seizure and ministry characterization are separate from the captain’s later criminal adjudication.
Ministerio Público consiguió que caso Run Da 608 pase a juicio oral ↗
Captain Zhuang Hanbo, company, alleged extraction and requested penalty
official prosecution update
Access and interpretation notes
Original public source reviewed during September 2026 expansion
Referral to trial is not a conviction. Three years four months and S/71,250 were requested, not an established sentence or payment.
Ushuaia: la fiscalía solicitó medidas para investigar posible daño ambiental ↗
21 March inspection, juvenile catches, labeling discrepancies and requested expert evidence
official investigation announcement
Access and interpretation notes
Original public source reviewed during September 2026 expansion
The announcement does not name the vessel; attribution to Tai An is corroborated by matching voyage dates in INIDEP and contemporary reporting. Investigation, not a final criminal judgment.
INIDEP 065/24: Tai An catches and hourly yields, 2018–June 2024 ↗
Summary and methods; official catch statistics versus observer-recorded gear
government scientific report
Access and interpretation notes
Original public source reviewed during September 2026 expansion
Technical assessment, not a court judgment. Distinguishes historical quota years and gear types; findings concern the period studied.
Prodesur’s quota dispute after the Tai An case ↗
Prodesur’s incidental-catch defense, later quota complaint and reported administrative sanction
original reporting and reported company position
Access and interpretation notes
Original public source reviewed during September 2026 expansion
Reported sanction and complaint are not original judgments. Allegations of bribery or political influence are not adopted as findings.
Fiscalía logró condena a ciudadano por tráfico ilegal de fauna silvestre ↗
Yuelin Gan Cao conviction, 65.88 kg, three consignments and monetary orders
official conviction report
Access and interpretation notes
Original public source reviewed during September 2026 expansion
Reports trial outcome; appellate status and collection of monetary orders not obtained. No finding that the postal carrier knowingly participated.
Fiscalía logra cárcel efectiva para hombre que iba a exportar aletas por encomienda ↗
25 July 2019 customs inspection, Hong Kong destination and nationality
official conviction follow-up
Access and interpretation notes
Original public source reviewed during September 2026 expansion
Corrects or adds detail to the earlier release. Species wording differs; the site avoids inferring that the defendant personally caught or killed the sharks.
Hong Kong Customs makes record seizure of smuggled scheduled dried shark fins ↗
28 April and 4 May container inspections; Ecuador origin; suspect released on bail
official customs seizure announcement
Access and interpretation notes
Original public source reviewed during September 2026 expansion
Two seizures of approximately 13 tonnes each; suspected scheduled fins, not a conviction. Does not identify the fishing vessels or prove Galápagos origin.
Eastern Pacific is a major supply chain for illegal fin trade, researchers find ↗
Genetic origin research and species-identification toolkit used in customs work
research institution account of original scientific work
Access and interpretation notes
Original public source reviewed during September 2026 expansion
Regional biological origin does not identify a particular catching vessel; institutional summary rather than a seizure judgment.
Fishy Business: smuggler of swim bladders sentenced in federal court ↗
Song Shen Zhen: sentence, restitution, border discovery and drying house
official sentencing report
Access and interpretation notes
Original public source reviewed during September 2026 expansion
27 bladders found at the border and 214 at the house, not 241 in the car. Restitution ordered does not establish payment; overseas buyer unidentified.
Massive trade in endangered species uncovered: totoaba cases ↗
Zhen search and Chinese-market context
official charging announcement and market context
Access and interpretation notes
Original public source reviewed during September 2026 expansion
Other defendants’ charges are not their convictions. Some chronology and seizure detail differ from the later sentencing account; S55 controls for Zhen.
Vaquita: species and threats ↗
Totoaba gillnet bycatch and Gulf of California habitat
official species assessment
Access and interpretation notes
Original public source reviewed during September 2026 expansion
Species-level ecological context does not prove a specific trafficker caused an individual vaquita death.
Clamor grows for ending trafficking, slavery on the seas ↗
5 June escape from Lu Qing Yuan Yu 901 and recruitment promises
original reporting quoting survivors and Indonesian officials
Access and interpretation notes
Original public source reviewed during September 2026 expansion
Report combines several separate vessels’ cases; do not transfer Long Xing burial details to this vessel. Final recruiter adjudication not established.
Police name three recruiters as suspects in Chinese vessel human trafficking case ↗
Recruiter suspects, job deception and alleged certificate forgery
original reporting on police statement
Access and interpretation notes
Original public source reviewed during September 2026 expansion
Police allegations and suspect designations, not convictions. Initials are retained; no attempt to expose unidentified suspects.
Analysis of the Southeast Pacific squid fleet, July 2021 ↗
Multiple MMSI analysis and Yong Xing 1 case study; Spanish version p. 33
original satellite and vessel-identity analysis
Access and interpretation notes
Original PDF downloaded and relevant vessel identity table and voyage analysis inspected. Raw AIS observations were not independently reconstructed.
AIS country prefixes are not proof of valid flag registration. Intent, operator responsibility and legal outcome need further evidence; one hull can broadcast multiple identities.
11th SPRFMO Commission meeting report and annexes ↗
Printed pp. 5–6; Annex 6a Table 12 (PDF p. 68)
intergovernmental decision and party submissions
Access and interpretation notes
Original public source reviewed during September 2026 expansion
Records competing legal positions and a decision not to list the two vessels; provisional-list allegations must not be presented as final IUU designation.
10th Compliance and Technical Committee report ↗
Paragraph 58 onward: Zhou Yu 929 and Pu Yuan 755 proposals
intergovernmental committee record
Access and interpretation notes
Original public source reviewed during September 2026 expansion
Committee stage is not the final Commission decision; read with S61.
2019 Final Compliance Report: Damanzaihao / Vladivostok 2000 ↗
Table 4: port access, services and responses from China, Panama and Cook Islands
intergovernmental compliance findings
Access and interpretation notes
Original public source reviewed during September 2026 expansion
Historical compliance findings; vessel was subsequently removed from the IUU list. Does not show that later owners committed earlier conduct.
CTC7 report: removal request for Vladivostok 2000 ↗
Paragraphs 134–139, ownership change and Russian assurances
intergovernmental committee record
Access and interpretation notes
Original public source reviewed during September 2026 expansion
Summarizes evidence and flag-state representations; recommendation must be read with the final Commission decision.
8th Commission meeting report: IUU-list decisions ↗
Paragraphs 66–67: removal of Vladivostok 2000
intergovernmental final decision
Access and interpretation notes
Original public source reviewed during September 2026 expansion
2020 delisting is established; not a current registry or a ruling erasing earlier conduct.
Triple sale by Atlantic Shipping ↗
April 2018 sale announcement for processing mother vessel Damanzaihao
original broker transaction announcement
Access and interpretation notes
Original public source reviewed during September 2026 expansion
Commercial party statement; a sale by itself neither establishes wrongdoing nor resolves liability.
China Fishery-related Chapter 11 decision, document 23 ↗
Corporate background and SFR / Damanzaihao asset discussion
published court decision
Access and interpretation notes
Original public source reviewed during September 2026 expansion
Financial proceeding, not an illegal-fishing judgment. Historical group structure must not be carried forward after a sale.
Pacific Andes vessel placed on IUU fishing list ↗
2015 listing and Geoffrey Walsh’s response
original reporting including company response
Access and interpretation notes
Original public source reviewed during September 2026 expansion
Contemporaneous report and party response; superseded as to current listing by the 2020 delisting.
Owner of seafood company charged in Atlantic blue crab scam ↗
Imported sources and repacking allegations
official charging announcement
Access and interpretation notes
Original public source reviewed during September 2026 expansion
Initial allegations; later sentencing establishes the outcome. Imported origin alone is not illegal.
Environmental Crimes Section Monthly Bulletin, February 2019 ↗
United States v. James R. Casey, 4:18-cr-00004
official sentencing report
Access and interpretation notes
Original public source reviewed during September 2026 expansion
Reports 45-month sentence; a later release about a different defendant says 48 months. This file uses the contemporaneous sentencing bulletin.
Owner of seafood company sentenced to prison for blue crab scam ↗
James Casey, false origin labels, source countries and volume
official sentencing announcement
Access and interpretation notes
Original public source reviewed during September 2026 expansion
U.S. processor’s offense; does not establish foreign suppliers knowingly participated or the catch was illegally harvested.
2020 Record of Vessels implementation report ↗
Yong Xing 1 row: IMO 8776497
historical intergovernmental vessel register
Access and interpretation notes
Original public source reviewed during September 2026 expansion
Historical identity anchor. This is not a current vessel authorization or a record of accepted Argentine or Korean flag registration.
Profile of Liu Zhijiang and Prodesur in the Tai An case ↗
Prodesur ownership and Chinese-born entrepreneur established in Tierra del Fuego
original local reporting
Access and interpretation notes
Original public source reviewed during September 2026 expansion
Biography is not proof of state direction; unrelated personal-business claims are not adopted by this project.
Autoridad Marítima realizó visita inspectiva a buque pesquero chino Hai Li 18 ↗
Valparaíso crew-change authorization and inspection
official port inspection account
Access and interpretation notes
Original public source reviewed during September 2026 expansion
Authorized port use and inspection do not by themselves establish any violation.