The eel wars: Japan and America fight tooth and nail against new protections as some freshwater populations plunge over 90% from the 1980s

However, they are also a valuable seafood fish that is declining around the world, leading to a new push to impose trade restrictions to help avoid extinction.

Freshwater eels are critical to the sushi industry worldwide, and some species have declined by more than 90% since the 1980s. Scientists say the snakes have succumbed to a combination of river dams, hydroelectric turbines, pollution, habitat loss, climate change, poaching and poaching. Some environmental organizations have called on consumers to boycott eel in sushi restaurants.

The loss of the eels has prompted the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, or CITES, to consider new restrictions to protect the shimmering fish. Members of CITES, an international treaty, met in Uzbekistan this week to determine whether new rules on trade are needed. Member states voted against the new protection measures on Thursday.

Conservation groups said the protections were long overdue, but not everyone was on board. Some fishing groups, members of the seafood industry, and regulatory agencies in the United States, China, and Japan — all countries where eels are considered economically important — have spoken out against restricting the trade.

Mitchell Feigenbaum, one of North America’s largest eel traders and an advocate for the industry, said the push for more restrictions is the work of “an international body dominated by volunteer scientists and unelected bureaucrats.” But many conservation groups countered that protection was necessary.

“This action is vital to strengthen trade control, assist fisheries management, and ensure the long-term survival of these species,” said Susan Lieberman, vice president of international policy for the Wildlife Conservation Society.

Why are snakes so valuable?

The snakes in question are snakes of the Anguilla genus, which spend their lives in fresh water but migrate to the ocean to lay their eggs. They differ from the familiar, smiling moray eels, which are very popular in aquariums and are mostly marine fish, and the electric eels that live in South America.

Anguilla eels, especially young baby eels called elvers, are valuable because they are used as seed stock by Asian aquaculture companies who raise them to maturity for use as food. Freshwater eel is known as unagi in Japan, and is a main ingredient in many sushi dishes. Eel is also culturally important in Japan, where people have eaten the fish for thousands of years.

Snakes have become more valuable in the United States over the past 15 years due to sharp declines in snake populations elsewhere in the world. While the number of American eels has declined, the decline has not been as severe as that of Japanese and European eels. Attempts to list American eels under the US Endangered Species Act have failed.

Maine is the only US state with a large juvenile fishery, and it is strictly regulated. Small Maine eels were worth more than $1,200 per pound at docks in 2024, and were worth more than $2,000 per pound the year before that.

New protections were on the table

The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), one of the world’s largest multinational wildlife agreements, expanded protection to include European eels in 2009. The organization has considered adding more than a dozen other eel species, including American and Japanese eels, to its list of protected species.

Adding snakes to the list means exporters will need a permit to ship them. Before a permit can be granted, the scientific authority in the home country must determine that the export will not harm the survival of the species and that the snakes have not been taken illegally under national wildlife laws. This is important because poaching of eels is a major threat, and rare species are often illegally passed off as more common, according to CITES documents.

The documents state that tightening trade rules “will encourage monitoring and controls of species-specific trade and close loopholes that allow illicit trade to continue.”

The United States and Japan are rolling back protectionist measures

Fishing groups are not the only organizations resisting expanding protections for eels, with regulatory groups in some countries saying national and regional laws are a better way to conserve eels.

Both Japan and China have told the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) that they do not support the snakes’ listing. In the United States, the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission, which regulates the American eel fishery, has submitted certification to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora against listing.

Tony Cairns, the commission’s fisheries policy director, said U.S. management of eels is sufficient to protect the species.

“We don’t feel the proposal provides enough information about how to curb the black market,” Kearns said. “We are very concerned about how this may restrict trade in the United States.”

A coalition of industry groups in China, Japan, South Korea and Taiwan also filed a motion to deny protection, saying CITES’s assertion that international trade is causing eel populations to decline “is not supported by sufficient evidence.”

Conservationists say the time to act is now

Strong demand for snakes is a reason to protect the trade with new rules, said Nastya Timoshyna, director of the Europe office at TRAFFIC, a U.K.-based non-profit that fights wildlife trafficking.

Illegal shipping is not the only reason snake numbers are declining, but working with industry to reduce the illegal trade will give the fish a better chance of survival, Timoshyna said.

The snakes may not be universally beloved, but they are important in part because they are indicator species that help scientists understand the health of their surrounding ecosystem, Tymoshina said.

“It’s not about banning it or stopping hunting practices,” Timoshyna said. “It’s about industry responsibility, and there is tremendous power in the industry.”

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Associated Press writer Michael Casey in Boston contributed to this report.