According to an investigation by InSight Crime, in the coastal village of Kaukira, Honduras, fishermen have shifted from facilitating Drug Trafficking to harvesting sea cucumbers. When increased raids by Honduran authorities and the United States Drug Enforcement Administration disrupted cocaine smuggling operations after 2016, local fishing fleets – once used to retrieve drug packages dropped at sea – pivoted to supplying Asian markets with sea cucumbers. This transition was facilitated by Taiwanese and Vietnamese intermediaries who arrived in the region around 2010, financing boats, equipment, and advances to divers while establishing a cash-based black market that grew Honduras' sea cucumber exports from 550 tons in 2010 to an estimated 1,600 tons by 2018. A typical Honduran fishing boat collects approximately 3,000 pounds of sea cucumber per three-week trip, receiving about $8 USD per pound from middlemen, generating $25,000 USD per trip or roughly $150,000 USD per six-trip season for boat captains. However, these same sea cucumbers could fetch $230 USD per pound in Hong Kong's formal market according to 2015 estimates from the UN Food and Agriculture Organization.