Global Crackdown Saves Critically Endangered Eels

A decade-long battle against organized wildlife crime is turning the tide for one of the world's most trafficked animals.

Since 2015, Europol's Operation LAKE has dismantled sophisticated eel trafficking networks operating across Asia, Africa, and Europe. The coordinated effort has resulted in record seizures of poached glass eels and the arrest of smugglers who concealed the tiny creatures in suitcases filled with ice and oxygen at major airports.

European eel populations crashed by over 90% since the 1980s, earning them a "Critically Endangered" status. When the EU banned eel exports in 2009, criminal networks saw opportunity. Glass eels, just a few centimeters long, fetch up to €6,000 per kilogram on the black market because one kilogram can produce over a tonne of adult eels for Asian aquaculture farms.

The smuggling operations were staggeringly complex. Traffickers moved shipments through unlikely countries like Cyprus, Morocco, and Senegal. They used corporate money-laundering structures spanning multiple nations. For years, customs officials couldn't tell different eel species apart by sight alone, making enforcement nearly impossible.

Then technology changed everything. Private companies and universities developed rapid DNA testing kits that identify eel species in minutes instead of days. When North American authorities tested incoming shipments labeled as American or Japanese eel, they discovered many contained illegal European eels. The evidence helped prosecutors put traffickers behind bars.

Captain Daniel Barturen García of Spain's environmental police explains how smugglers operated: "They add ice to slow down their metabolism and inject oxygen so the glass eels can survive the trip to Asia. There, they are raised in fattening farms to produce eel fillets for consumption."

The crackdown required unprecedented international cooperation. EU agencies including Europol, the European Anti-Fraud Office, and the European Fisheries Control Agency joined forces. At the global level, INTERPOL worked to map criminal networks and connect countries where arrests happened with nations providing financing.

The Ripple Effect

The success against eel trafficking is creating a blueprint for fighting wildlife crime worldwide. At the 2025 CITES conference in Uzbekistan, countries adopted a resolution calling for enhanced international cooperation on eel trade. Last October in Bangkok, 35 nations gathered for closed-door exchanges that directly led to seizures, arrests, and prosecutions.

Barend Janse Van Rensburg, Chief of Enforcement at the CITES Secretariat, emphasizes the importance of these connections. "Wildlife crime is a global issue and eels are no exception. You can't address this issue without international collaboration."

The EU's 2022-2027 action plan against wildlife trafficking strengthens partnerships between source countries, consumers, and transit nations. Each successful prosecution weakens networks that have operated with impunity for years. Each DNA test makes smuggling riskier and less profitable.

For a species that nearly disappeared from our rivers and oceans, international cooperation is proving to be the lifeline these ancient fish desperately needed.