South Korean police have arrested three fishermen who are suspected of running a ring that traded in illegal whale meat. 90 mink whales were found in a cold storage facility in Ulsan, home to scores of restaurants that serve whale meat.

The three tried to sell their catch to restaurant but fortunately police were tipped off to the existence of the facility. Commercial whaling is prohibited and poachers can face jail for up to three years as South Korean allows the trade in whales caught accidentally by fishing crews or in whales that have washed up dead near its shores.

The arrest followed the seizure of 50 tons of whale meat worth an estimated $788,600. The price of whale meat has as much as doubled due to the crackdown last year although illegal whaling still thrives because the accidental catch loophole offers a convenient excuse that is hard for authorities to verify. One local whale-meat restaurant owner said she is paying roughly 50 percent more than two years ago.