Recent reports in Russian media outlets such as RusWest, Fishnews, and New Kaliningrad have increasingly highlighted the growing scale of the trade in European eels from the rivers Severn and Parrett to Kaliningrad in Russia. The volume of exports has surged dramatically, from half a million pieces in 2022 to 1.5 million in 2023, and more than three million in 2024. Projections from Fishnews suggest this could rise to as many as 15 million by 2025, a figure that has sparked controversy internationally. The rapid growth in the trade has drawn increasing media attention, with Russian outlets questioning the true purpose behind these shipments.
Last week, the Sustainable Eel Group made an important contribution to the renewed media interest, through its recent open letter in The Telegraph. With the letter, Andrew Kerr raised concerns about whether the growing eel exports were genuinely intended for conservation efforts or were instead being diverted for other purposes. He also put eel back on the agenda, winning support from influential figures in politics and conservation. Now Russian reporters are actively citing its contents to justify their investigative journalism on the issue.
The Kaliningrad authorities have defended the trade, asserting that imported glass eels are being used to replenish depleted waters and support the region’s modest fishery. Last year, some 2.35 million eels were released into the Vistula Lagoon, and another 500,000 into the Curonian Lagoon, under this premise. Reporting from New Kaliningrad suggest the contrary to be true. It is now common knowledge that the releases form part of ‘Agriculture and Fisheries’, a nationwide food security programme with no obvious species rehabilitation dimension.
It has become increasingly evident that the growing trade in eels is closely linked to the expanding aquaculture industry in Kaliningrad, with Fishnews reporting that eel farms in the Russian exclave produced over 100 tonnes of eel meat in 2024, and are showing signs of continued growth in line with positive market trends. Industry analysis suggests a significant proportion of the glass eels imported from Britain in 2024 – potentially around one million – may have been diverted for farming operations rather than being used to support with habitat rehabilitation. This growing connection between the UK trade and commercial farming operations undermines conservation claims made by both British and Russian authorities.
This is not to suggest that the British Government has acted in contravention of its commitments to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species. The conditions of these permits clearly states that the glass eels are to be used exclusively for restocking and must not be re-exported or used for any other purpose. The significant rise in aquaculture production in Kaliningrad strongly suggests that at least some of the shipments are being used in violation of the established terms. The continuation of the trade nevertheless casts doubt on the integrity of DEFRA’s permit process and its ability to enforce compliance.
Conservation arguments aside, there is also a very real possibility that British ministers are supporting Russia as it plans its response to international sanctions and attempts to place its market economy on a war footing. If recent articles in Fishnews are to be taken at face value, then it would seem that this ‘restocking’ programme forms part of the Putin Administration’s vision for absolute economic self-sufficiency by 2030. Among other proposals, the government whitepaper calls for ‘the stimulation of the deep processing of aquatic biological resources’.
Read the Russian articles:
‘The British are required to stop exporting eel to the Kaliningrad region’, Ruwest
‘Young eels were added to the Kaliningrad bays’, Fishnews
‘The President gives a number of “fish” instructions’, Fishnews