• WCS is urging CITES Parties to support Proposal 35 to list the Endangered American eel on Appendix II, ensuring legal and sustainable international trade.
• American eel populations have plummeted due to threats including illegal trafficking of glass eels, driven by prices exceeding $2300 per pound.
• WCS research on the Bronx River highlights that eel abundance is reduced upstream of dams, requiring habitat restoration and fish passage improvements.
• The CITES listing is deemed vital to strengthen trade monitoring and fisheries management, reflecting a global need for coordinated action on declining anguillid eels.

The Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) is urging Parties at the CITES CoP20 meeting in Samarkand to support Proposal 35, which seeks to list the American eel (Anguilla rostrata) on CITES Appendix II. This listing would ensure that international trade of the species is legal, traceable, and sustainable, providing necessary oversight to combat overexploitation and illegal trafficking.

The American eel is now classified as Endangered on the IUCN Red List, with populations suffering severe declines across its native range, which spans from Maine to Florida and the Gulf of Mexico. The migratory species faces compounding threats, including overfishing, illegal trade, pollution, climate change, and habitat fragmentation from dams. Demand for the American eel, particularly the vulnerable glass eel stage, has surged due to the collapse of Japanese and European eel populations, driving prices over $2,300 per pound and fueling illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) trade.

WCS has been actively involved in eel conservation for a century, dating back to 1925 research in the Sargasso Sea. More recently, WCS has conducted pioneering research on the Bronx River, capturing and tagging over 531 eels to monitor movement and the impact of dams. These studies indicate that abundance declines upstream of dams, highlighting the critical need for habitat restoration and fish passage improvements. WCS asserts that the CITES Appendix II listing is a vital, science-based measure to secure the species’ long-term survival through coordinated international management.