But as ocean stocks shrink and prices rise, criminals can exploit shortages to make a quick buck. At least 20 percent of Indonesian crab entering the United States is estimated to be taken illegally, according to the study published in Marine Policy this year. And an importer of a single shipping container filled with cans of crabmeat could make a small fortune simply by changing a few words on the labels. If the labels are switched from "product of Indonesia" to "product of Maryland" — which commands a higher price on the open market — the vendor of that container in New Jersey, for example, could sell the crabmeat for an extra $500,000.