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Aussie Lobster ‘Grey Trade’ Thrives as Smugglers Circumvent Beijing Bans
Chinese e-commerce platforms and wet markets are circumventing Beijing’s unofficial ban on Australian lobster imports by offering the popular delicacy for sale to Chinese consumers.
Driven by strong demand, the lobster “grey trade” is thriving, with importers moving the Australian goods to Hong Kong and then into Mainland China via waterways.
In May, Chinese police found over 569kg worth of lobster during a raid, with an estimated street value of US$19,300. The shellfish were found along with typical goods preferred by smugglers including handbags, jewellery, shark fin, and smartphones.
Family fined $70,000 over black market rock lobster sales
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Lobster seized in the operation.
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A family from the WA Midwest fishing community of Leeman has been ordered to pay more than $70,000 in fines and costs after selling 76 black market Western Rock Lobster to undercover officers during an operation between June 2018 and April 2019.
Key points:
Magistrate says sales were intentional and for profit.
Trio charged after 10-month undercover operation.
Ronald George Dennis, 67, his wife Lorna Frances Weeks, 67 and their son Ronald Francis Dennis, 29 pleaded guilty to charges of intentionally or recklessly contravening a provision of a management plan.
Date Time
One shell of a deal: Woolworths introduces half price WA Rock Lobsters for Christmas
With Christmas two weeks away and shoppers looking for great value for their family entertaining, Woolworths is offering West Australian Rock Lobsters at just $20/each, half the price they were this time last year.
The Rock Lobsters are supplied from a number of fishing families spread across Western Australia’s coast, and Woolworths estimates customers will feast on more than 35 tonnes of lobster this year, compared to just 6.5 tonnes last year.
Woolworths’ support of the lobster industry with the purchase of five times more product than last year, comes at a time when many businesses have been heavily disrupted by export restrictions.