All our marine items are either sourced from the commercial food industry, either bycatch of commercial fishery. All other items are legally sourced from breeders, licensed hunters, old collections, antique collections, artists, licensed taxidermist or reclamation industry.
No item is collected solely for the purpose of sale through NaturalArt, hence availability fluctuates in number and over time. For example: all crustaceans and/or mollusca we supply are either bycatch from commercial fishery worldwide, or are commercially available as a food source. Bycatch would otherwise have no purpose, other than to be thrown overboard dead or damaged.
Presently, these specimens are given an added value in collections and as decorative items, on their own or featured in a decorative piece.
For example, the crustacean Lithodes maja is sometimes fished by haddock trawlers in European waters. The species is only available as a food source in some areas of Europe. No bag or size limit is known to us, and the species is mostly regarded as a commercially non-viable source. Occasionally, a number of them are sourced from the bycatch material of a vessel to be sanitized and mounted for display or collection purposes.
All items have been legally imported into the EU according to EU, Belgian and CITES laws and regulations. All items were legally sourced in the country of origin in accordance with local fisheries, wildlife and environmental laws, regulations and restrictions.
Information on all items on sale is on record with NaturalArt and is completely traceable from origin to destination, including information such as (if available, but not always limited to) locality data, fishing vessel/captain, export/import permits, hunting licenses, sales licenses, customs declarations, import procedures, mode of preservation etc… . This information can be made available to a customer upon agreement and specific request.