Eel trade regulations are set to be a focus at 20th session of the Conference of the Parties (CoP20) held in Samarkand, Uzbekistan over this week.
Japan is expected to oppose a proposal to regulate eel species, including the ones commonly consumed in Japan and across Asia as a delicacy.
The vote is scheduled to take place today.
On November 21, ICFA published a statement expressing serious concern on proposals for stricter control over multiple species, including eels.
“This is a one-sided move by the [European Union] that shifts administrative burden of addressing illegal trade of European eel to other regions, disproportionately affecting the Asia Pacific region, especially to small scale fishers/aquaculture farmers.”
CITES is moving to include the Japanese eel (Anguilla japonica) and American eel (Anguilla rostrata) in CITES Appendix II, which closely controls trade of species considered at risk due to overexploitation.
The rationale for including both in Appendix II was because of their physical similarities, making it easy of traders to mislabel or mix species.
However, ICFA argued that “principles for listing look-alike species are ambiguous and open to broad interpretation”.
It also said this justification was based on “questionable assumption about American eel’s conservation status”.
“The possibility that the American eel may be designated as ‘threatened’ or ‘endangered’ in Canada makes the glass eel fishery and its commercial quotas highly unstable, scaring off potential investors in an eel industry. Moreover, markets that demand ‘sustainable seafood’ will not accept products designated as threatened – or that ‘may become threatened in the near future,’ as the CITES proposal asserts.”
Conservation critique
The statement also highlighted the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) expert advisory panel assessment that the risk of extinction for Japanese and American eels was low.
“ICFA is disappointed with the Final Assessment by the CITES Secretariat, which does not follow the expert opinion of the FAO regarding the proposed look-alike species listing.”
Ultimately, this would hinder the eel industry as well as conservation efforts, it added.
“Listing common eel species at the genus level on the basis that they ‘may become threatened in the near future’ would merely burden responsible and sustainable eel production and stimulate the illegal trafficking of eels to countries with low regulatory barriers.”
It proposed that international cooperation would be more effective at conservation.“ICFA believes the most effective and sustainable path to eel conservation should be found not in a blanket listing to Appendices, but in international cooperation, knowledge sharing and improved management practices.”
Japanese eels not at risk
In its statement, ICFA said that the population of Japanese eels has recovered since 1990 and is not facing the risk of extinction.
“Regulating all eel species at genus-level without thorough scientific examination thus is inappropriate.”
It highlighted that Japan has ensured the protection of eel populations through its own regulations and has collaborated with neighbouring countries to do the same.
“Japan is fully committed to the conservation and sustainable use of eels through rigorous enforcement of domestic legislation. Since 2012, Japan has been conducting annual consultations with China, the Republic of Korea, and Taiwan to regulate eel fishing through restriction measures.”
It added: “Existing regional and national management measures across Asia are extensive and demonstrably effective, particularly in eastern Asia where cooperative frameworks and practical species identification methods support sustainable use and trade monitoring.”
The ICFA statement also expressed concerns over the tighter controls over the Mustelus species of sharks and four species of sea cucumbers.
