Together with @hungsunhan, earlier this week we called on prosecutors to investigate the mass smuggling of Australian rock lobsters, with at least 60 tonnes smuggled from Taiwan into the Chinese market through 33 ship-to-ship transfers near the Matsu Islands. 1/ https://t.co/NJ1dBQa1Xu

The smugglers shipped in lobsters from Taiwan to Matsu through both air & sea routes. They then falsely declared Daqiu Island as a “domestic” shipping destination. Navigational tracing reveals that the smugglers instead headed north to meet with Chinese counterparts. 2/ https://t.co/D73wx3wFTC

Interestingly, Daqiu is an unpopulated islet home to a hundred Formosan sika deer, which do not eat any lobster. It is bewildering that county authorities could authorize the shipment of 60 tonnes of lobster to Daqiu between Sep. and Nov. last year. 3/ https://t.co/S5YpDSbLIP

The illicit networks are the result of a Chinese ban on Australian lobster since 2020. Lobster smuggling was rife in Hong Kong before a crackdown forced smugglers to move operations to Taiwan’s island counties along the coast of China, including Kinmen & the Matsu Islands. 4/ https://t.co/vK31YE2yPw

Despite warnings from the coast guard in early October, county officials continued to allow smugglers to sail through. With profits estimated at over NT$200 mil. in Matsu alone, we demand that local authorities should be investigated for shielding criminal activities. 5/5 https://t.co/J2sDoMyzMy