CCSEF Statement on CITES II decision

The Canadian Committee for a Sustainable Eel Fishery (CCSEF) commends the Canadian government for opposing the proposed listing of all eel species under Appendix II of CITES, aligning with the majority of nations worldwide.

CITES is designed to protect species at genuine risk of extinction—not to manage fisheries. The American eel (Anguilla rostrata), found from the Caribbean to Labrador, occupies the broadest habitat range of any freshwater species. Its population numbers in the hundreds of millions, with tens of millions in its annual breeding pool. Canada’s longest-running index of baby eel returns to Nova Scotia shows a rise in recruitment over three decades.

Since its inception, Canada’s Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) has applied a highly precautionary approach to eel management. Total allowable catch remains well below scientifically established safe thresholds for elver harvest.
A CITES II listing would have undermined First Nations seeking greater fishery participation and disrupted plans to relocate global-scale eel aquaculture and processing from China to North America using locally caught elvers.

CCSEF shares concerns about illegal, unreported, and unauthorized eel trafficking. In response, DFO launched a modern traceability system in 2025. CCSEF stands ready to collaborate with DFO and other range states, including the U.S., to continuously enhance these systems using emerging technologies.

However, the industry will firmly resist any attempt to invoke a false extinction narrative to justify replacing professional fishery management with extreme measures, including draconian cuts and shutdowns. The American eel’s survival over millions of years is supported by robust genetic diversity, gender and habitat plasticity, and a randomly dispersing breeding pool—traits that ensure long-term resilience.