EU to propose restrictions on international trade in eels

The EU has finalized its policy of proposing to include eels in the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Wild Fauna and Flora, which restricts international trade in endangered wild animals and plants. If the proposal is passed at the meeting of the contracting parties to be held at the end of November, the trade of eel fry and kabayaki eels in East Asia will not be free.

In order to veto the proposal, Japan will join hands with China and South Korea to lobby relevant countries.

The European Commission, the executive body of the EU, intends to propose to the meeting of the contracting parties to include 18 species of eels, including the Japanese eel, in the “Appendix 2” of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Wild Fauna and Flora. Together with the European eel, which is already included in the convention, all 19 species of eels in the world will be included in the list of targets.

An EU official revealed that a meeting of the Council of Ministers of the member states was held recently and the proposal of the European Commission was approved. This means that the negotiation policy of the entire EU has been determined and preparations for submitting the proposal to the contracting parties are ready.

In the future, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) will organize scientists to review and discuss it at the meeting of the contracting parties to be held in Uzbekistan from November 24 to December 5. The proposal needs more than two-thirds of the votes in favor of the approximately 180 member states to pass.

In the absence of the EU’s change of policy, the Japanese government will cooperate with China and South Korea, the main eel fishing countries, to persuade the participating countries by proposing that “resources are sufficient and there is no risk of extinction.”

If the proposal is passed, it may have a major impact on the circulation of eels in Japan. The reason is that the exporting country needs to issue a license. In 2024, Japan’s domestic eel supply will be 63,000 tons, of which 70% will be imported mainly from China in the form of live eels and kabayaki eels.

The remaining 30% is farmed in Japan, but half of the eel fry are imported from China. Only 15% of the “pure domestic” eels are caught and farmed in Japan.

The average wholesale price of kabayaki eels in Tokyo’s Toyosu market in 2024 is about 4,500 yen per kilogram, the same as the previous year. A wholesale manager predicted that if the restriction plan is adopted, “(China’s) export procedures will become complicated and prices may rise.”

A fish farming worker in Kyushu said, “Public opinion is growing about whether endangered species can be eaten, and there are concerns that sales in retail stores will decrease.”

The EU claims that the stock of Japanese eels has “significantly decreased,” while Japan counters that it is “plenty.”

Japanese eels are born in the Mariana Trench, about 2,000 kilometers from Japan, and follow the ocean currents to the coast of East Asia. After these young fish are caught, they are raised in farms for six months to a year before being eaten.

In order to protect aquatic resources in Japan, scientists conduct resource surveys and assessments on major fish species such as tuna, squid, and mackerel, and set an upper limit on the number of fish that can be caught, but eels are not included. This is because there are still many mysteries about its ecology, the spawning site is far away, and the number of broodstock and eggs is difficult to grasp.

Due to overfishing and deterioration of the river environment, the catch of young fish has remained at a low level since the second half of the 1970s. In 2014, the World Conservation Union (IUCN) listed Japanese eels as “endangered species with a high risk of extinction” and included them in the Red List.