In areas where neighbouring states do not provide the same level of protection for a species that exists in both states’ territorial waters, traffickers can easily harvest and transport wildlife for export.

For example, sea cucumber networks heavily poach species in protected waters in Southern India, where the trade in all sea cucumbers is fully restricted. They work through local fisherman to harvest the creatures, then either move them onshore for clandestine processing and shipment to Asia or move them via small boats directly to Sri Lanka upon capture. Sri Lanka’s thriving marine products export sector provides numerous laundering opportunities, allowing tonnes of sea cucumbers to exit the region mixed in with legal shipments.

On the other side of the world, various reports testify to the trafficking of CITES-listed shark species from Ecuador to Peru for export to Hong Kong, via both legal and illegal border crossings and using fraudulent documentation.