F.Stein on Twitter: “Excellent read on illegal glass eel trade from a Japanese perspective! @TRAFFIC_WLTrade @thedmbaker @EelGroup https://t.co/TpJ3Wwvvzi / Twitter”

Excellent read on illegal glass eel trade from a Japanese perspective! @TRAFFIC_WLTrade @thedmbaker @EelGroup https://t.co/TpJ3Wwvvzi

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A look at the global eel trade reveals widespread fraud

Article by TOMIO SHIDA in Nikkei Asian Review, 03 December 2016

In Japan, 9.6 tons of baby eels magically appeared in 2015

“The risk is global
In the rest of the world, poaching and the absence of reporting are seen as the same problem. Not in Japan. The concept of IUU fishing – illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing – has taken hold at international deliberations. The U.N.’s Food and Agriculture Organization in 2001 adopted an action plan to prevent, curb and eliminate IUU fishing. In 2010, the European Union introduced a policy to do the same.

The EU warns countries suspected to be involved in the practice and bans the distribution of fishery products – even processed ones – that result from IUU practices. However, these bans only take effect if the countries under suspicion show no progress in addressing the matter.

Other international bodies are tuning into the eel problem. The International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources has designated the Japanese eel as an endangered species. It has also noted that IUU fishing of glass eels makes it difficult to properly analyze and manage fishery resources.”

Read full article on Nikkei Asian Review