SCARBOROUGH, Maine (AP) — Eels are nightmares—slimy, snake-like creatures that lay millions of eggs before dying so their offspring can return home to rivers and streams. They have been around since the time of the dinosaurs, and some species are less well studied than these ancient animals.
However, it is also a prized seafood that is declining around the world, leading to a new push for trade restrictions to help stave off extinction.
Freshwater eels are critical to the global sushi industry, and some species have declined by more than 90% since the 1980s. Scientists say the eels have fallen victim to river dams, hydroelectric turbines, pollution, habitat loss, climate change, illegal poaching and overfishing. Some environmental groups have called on consumers to boycott eel in sushi restaurants.
The loss of the eels has prompted the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, or CITES, to consider new restrictions to protect the wiggling fish. Members of the international treaty CITES met this week in Uzbekistan to determine whether new trade rules are needed. Member countries voted against the new protection measures on Thursday.
Environmental groups said protections were long overdue, but not everyone was on board. Some fishing groups, seafood industry representatives and regulators in the United States, China and Japan – all countries where eel is of economic importance – have opposed the trade restrictions.
The push for more restrictions is the work of “an international organization dominated by volunteer scientists and unelected bureaucrats,” said Mitchell Feigenbaum, one of North America's largest eel traders and an advocate for the industry. But several environmental groups have countered that the protections are necessary.
“This measure is vital to strengthen trade monitoring, aid fisheries management and ensure the long-term survival of the species,” said Susan Lieberman, vice president of international policy at the Wildlife Conservation Society.
Why are eels so valuable?
We are talking about eels of the genus anguilla, which spend their lives in fresh water, but migrate to the ocean to spawn. They differ from the familiar grinning moray eels, which are popular in aquariums and are primarily marine fish, and from the electric eels found in South America.
Anguilla eels, especially young eels called elvers, are valuable because they are used as seed by Asian aquaculture companies, which raise them to maturity for use as food. Freshwater eel is known as unagi in Japan and is a key ingredient in many sushi dishes. Eel also has cultural significance in Japan, where people have eaten the fish for thousands of years.
Over the past 15 years, eels have become more valuable in the United States due to sharp declines in eel populations elsewhere in the world. Although the American eel population has declined, the decline has not been as severe as that of Japanese and European eels. Efforts to list American eels under the US Endangered Species Act have failed.
Maine is the only U.S. state with a significant elderberry fishery, and it is highly regulated. In 2024, baby Maine eels were fetching more than $1,200 a pound at the docks, up from more than $2,000 a pound the year before.
New protective equipment was on the table
CITES, one of the world's largest multinational wildlife treaties, expanded protections for European eels in 2009. The organization was considering adding more than a dozen species of eels, including American and Japanese eels, to its list of protected species.
Adding eels to the list would mean exporters would need permission to ship them. Before a permit can be issued, a scientific authority in the country of origin will have to determine that the export will not harm the survival of the species and that the eels have not been caught illegally under national wildlife laws. This is important because eel poaching is a serious threat and rare species are often illegally passed off as more common ones, CITES documents say.
Tighter trade rules “will encourage monitoring and control of trade in specific species and close loopholes that allow illegal trade to continue,” the documents said.
The US and Japan refused protection
Fisheries groups are not the only organizations resisting expanded eel protections, as regulatory groups in some countries argue that national and regional laws are the best way to conserve eels.
Japan and China have told CITES they do not support listing the eels. And in the US, the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission, which regulates the American eel fishery, submitted testimony to CITES against listing.
The U.S.'s own eel management practices are sufficient to protect the species, said Toni Kerns, director of fisheries policy at the commission.
“We don't think this proposal provides enough information about how the black market will be curbed,” Kearns said. “We are very concerned about how this will potentially restrict trade in the United States.”
A coalition of industry groups in China, Japan, South Korea and Taiwan also filed a request to reject the protection, saying CITES's assertion that international trade is causing eel populations to decline is “not supported by sufficient evidence.”
Conservationists say it's time to act
High demand for eels is a reason to protect the trade under new rules, said Nastya Timoshina, director of the European office of TRAFFIC, a British non-profit that fights wildlife trafficking.
Illegal shipping is not the only reason eel numbers are declining, but working with industry to reduce illegal trade will give the fish a better chance of survival, Timoshina said.
Eels may not be universally loved, but they are important in part because they are an indicator species that helps scientists understand the health of the ecosystem around them, Timoshina said.
“This is not about banning or stopping fishing,” Timoshina said. “This is about industry responsibility, and industry has enormous power.”
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Associated Press writer Michael Casey in Boston contributed to this report.
