Officials uncover shocking scale of smuggling ring driving species to brink: 'Substantial and lucrative'

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2 days ago

Officials uncover shocking scale of smuggling ring driving species to brink: 'Substantial and lucrative'
Despite the European Union's ban on the export of critically endangered European glass eels in 2010, the animals are still being illegally trafficked in record numbers and face a high risk of extinction.
What's happening?
As Mongabay reported, European eels have been a hot commodity in the illegal wildlife trade since the 1990s, particularly in East Asia, when Japan's native eel populations began declining. Because of concerns about the eels being overexploited, they were listed under Appendix 2 of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species in 2007, which restricts their trade by requiring export permits. The following year, European eels were classified as critically endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, reflecting a 97% decline in their population since 1980, as reported in a separate Mongabay article.
However, due to complex criminal networks spanning Europe and Asia, which even involve biologists, chemists, and veterinarians to ensure the animals survive their arduous journey, it's becoming increasingly difficult to catch smugglers.
And since European glass eels can't be bred in captivity, per the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, aquaculture farms that raise them to produce the traditional Japanese dish unagi must import wild-caught juveniles, making smuggling the animals a highly profitable endeavor.
According to a 2025 Europol assessment of serious organized crime, profits generated by the smuggling of glass eels are estimated at 3 billion euros ($3.5 billion) in high-demand years.
"The trafficking of glass eels remains one of the most substantial and lucrative illegal trades of protected species across the globe," the law enforcement agency wrote in the report.
Ignasi Sanahuja, a physiology professor at the University of Barcelona and lead author of a study on the environmental consequences of the European eel trade, told Mongabay that if more efforts aren't made to stop smugglers, the animals and the ecosystems they inhabit could face major risks.
"Disruptions at any stage — especially through overharvesting of glass eels — can collapse the entire population structure," Sanahuja told the news outlet. "Continued unregulated trade exacerbates this decline, threatening not only the species but also the ecological balance of the habitats they occupy."
Why is the trafficking of European eels concerning?
The illegal wildlife trade hurts economies because it reduces tax revenue for local communities and governments and threatens the livelihoods of traditional fishermen, farmers, and eel processors who have relied on sustainable eel fishing for centuries, particularly in Atlantic coastal communities, per Wired.
Not to mention, trafficking the eels disrupts marine and freshwater ecosystems, as they act as both predators and prey, helping to regulate populations of other species and maintain biodiversity.
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"The illegal or excessive harvest of glass eels strips away a critical life stage," Sanahuja said. "That disrupts their ecological role — leading to a cascade of effects like overpopulation of aquatic insects, reduced food for eel predators, and weakened ecosystem resilience."
Even when eels are rescued and released back into their native habitats, they put wild populations at risk of contracting bacterial infections because of their reduced immunity. And if the European eels happen to escape from aquaculture farms in Asia, they could outcompete native species for resources and contribute to ecosystem collapse in other areas as well.
What's being done to protect them?
Louisa Musing, the senior program officer for the organization TRAFFIC in Europe, told Mongabay that the huge scale of the trade demands coordinated efforts from multiple agencies across the EU and stronger legislation to prevent smuggling.
But even though authorities are cracking down on wildlife crimes associated with the eels, experts say public awareness campaigns and reintroduction programs are also necessary to help the species rebound.
Individuals can help by learning more about wildlife trafficking, reporting suspicious activity to anti-trafficking hotlines, and donating to nonprofits such as the World Wildlife Fund that are working to end the illegal wildlife trade.
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