The Netherlands as a hub for possible illegal Russian fishing
Monitoring of lucrative Russian fish trade through the Netherlands is failing. Millions of kilos of Russian fish worth $1.5 billion enter the port of Velsen every year. But controls on illegal catches fall seriously short. This is according to research by collective Spit for De Groene Amsterdammer and the Barents Observer.
The Netherlands is a hub for Russian whitefish such as cod, and thus indirectly facilitates Russia's war chest. Millions of kilos of Russian fish arrive in the port of Velsen every year, but controls on illegal catches are seriously inadequate. This is evident from research by the Spit collective for De Groene Amsterdammer and Barents Observer.
In 2023, Russia exported 95 million kilos of cod and haddock from the Barents Sea to the Netherlands. For Russia, fish is the third source of income after oil and grain. In the past, Russian fishing companies that landed their catch in the Netherlands have sometimes been caught committing shrewd fishing fraud. Despite this, the Netherlands hardly carries out effective inspections. Of the dozens of Russian ships entering the ports only a few have been checked in recent years.
The Netherlands recently banned refrigerated ships with the Russian flag from entering Dutch ports due to possible espionage. Since then, Russian fishing vessels have been transferring their fish to refrigerated ships flying the Norwegian flag. So trading continues as normal. The largest player is the fishing company Norebo, which has close ties to the Kremlin. During a recent redistribution of fishing quotas, the company acquired many quotas. With financing from state bank Sberbank, Norebo is currently investing in a fleet of new ships.
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Norwegian inspectors are shocked about the inadequate controls in the Netherlands. “If Russian companies are still fishing illegally, Dutch inspections will not reveal this.” The situation is worrying; cod stocks in the Barents Sea are declining rapidly.
Karel Burger Dirven, honorary consul of Ukraine, calls the trade an “economic Trojan horse” and calls for direct action. He calls on the Dutch government and the industry to introduce sanctions that go further than European guidelines. Lawyer Heleen over de Linden proposes introducing a quota for Russian fish imports, so that entrepreneurs have time to find alternative sources.
The entire study can be read at De Groene Amsterdammer and Barents Observer.
This investigation was made possible in part with a grant from the Journalism Fund Europe.
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