Norway warns of a surge in illegal trade of genuine cod ahead of Christmas, high prices fueling rampant black market activity.

The Norwegian Directorate of Fisheries noted in a bulletin on December 11 that multiple coastal patrol teams had detected "abnormally frequent" trading activities over the past two weeks, but these transactions did not appear in official catch records, indicating unreported catches and signs of smuggling and illicit sales. "This is not a new phenomenon, but the trend is more pronounced this year," said Torkjell Andersen, head of fisheries monitoring and guidance at the Norwegian Directorate of Fisheries. High price incentive: Cod prices break $10,000 per ton Official data shows that the price of frozen Norwegian headless and gutted (H&G) Atlantic cod for China's cost, insurance, and freight (CIF China) has remained above $10,000 per ton for several consecutive weeks, setting a new historical record. Industry insiders point out that the sustained high prices have been passed on to the retail end, rapidly expanding the black market space for "bypassing the official channels to sell ...