The Truth Behind the Claim That “Japanese Eel Populations Are Increasing”: Japan’s Fisheries Agency Must Stop Concealing Inconvenient Truths
The European Union (EU) has submitted a proposal to the Conference of the Parties (CoP) to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), to be held in Uzbekistan starting late November, to add all eel species, including Japanese eels, to Appendix II, placing them under the Convention’s regulatory umbrella.
In response, Japan’s Fisheries Agency (JFA) and the eel industry are making every effort to block the proposal.
Yasuhiro Sanada, a research collaborator at Japan Wildlife Conservation Society(JWCS), disputes the JFA’s claims.
Yasuhiro Sanada, Ph.D. (Representative Director, Ocean Governance Institute / Visiting Researcher, Gakushuin University)