Japanese Eels Escape New Regulation in Vote at CITES Meeting, Avoiding Higher Prices for Dealers and Diners

By Hironari Akiyama and Ryuji Hashimoto / Yomiuri Shimbun Staff Writers

2:00 JST, November 29, 2025

SAMARKAND, Uzbekistan — Japan’s concern over possible higher prices for Japanese eels has been eased for now, as an EU proposal to regulate all eel species, including Japanese eels, was rejected at a meeting of the Conference of Parties to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, or CITES, on Thursday.

But concerns remain over declining resources, including Japanese eels. Resource management issues remain a challenge.

70% voted No

Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Minister Norikazu Suzuki on Thursday welcomed the outcome of the meeting, saying, “We were able to prevent our culinary culture of eel from being disturbed by a proposal that lacks a scientific basis.” Japan relies on imports for much of its eel supply.

At the meeting in Uzbekistan, 70% of the countries voted against the proposal. Opposition by more than one-third of the voting members would have been sufficient to reject it.

Since the negotiators from the participating countries are often environmental officials, proposals calling for resource protection tend to be passed. Even Japanese Fisheries Agency officials were saying just before the vote: “It’s 50-50. We cannot see it until the very end.”

It turned out that the margin was far greater than anticipated.

At the committee meeting on the day, China, whose stance had been closely watched due to deteriorating Japan-China relations, also voiced opposition.

Ahead of the vote, the Japanese government on Nov. 20 had gathered ambassadors stationed in Japan from 57 countries to ask for their understanding of Japan’s position. These efforts proved successful.

Key issues

In June, the EU submitted a request to the secretariat of CITES that all eel species be listed in Appendix II, which lists species that are not necessarily threatened with extinction now but may become so unless trade is closely controlled. The European eel, whose stocks have declined sharply due to overfishing of juvenile fish, is listed in Appendix II. This time, the proposal called for including all eel species, including Japanese eels.

The key point of contention was whether Japanese eel stocks are sufficiently abundant.

The Fisheries Agency insisted that “there is no risk of extinction of Japanese eels,” citing academic research that indicates a recovery trend in stocks since 1990.

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has also concluded that the risk of Japanese eels becoming extinct is low, and the CITES Secretariat acknowledged this.

The EU side also raised concerns about illegal trade in which European eels are fraudulently passed off as other species, arguing that distinguishing them at customs is difficult and poses enforcement challenges. In response, the Fisheries Agency countered that their habitats are completely separated, and that they are easy to distinguish by differences in the size and position of their fins.

Diplomatic victory

While Japan consumes the largest number of eels in the world, it relies on imports for most of its supply. According to the Fisheries Agency, approximately 70% of the 61,000 tons of eels on the market in Japan were imported, with 90% of that coming from China.

There was a concern that if the trade regulation were expanded to cover all eel species, imports would be hindered by complicated procedures for the exporting countries, leading to higher prices.

Imported eel accounts for about 90% of the supply of the major kabayaki broiled eel chain Naruse’s Unagi, which has 400 outlets nationwide. Their una-ju kabayaki dish starts at ¥1,600. Such a low price is made possible by importing precooked cultured Japanese eel or American eel. Masahiro Yamamoto, president of Franchise Business Incubation, Inc., the operator of Naruse’s Unagi, said, “There was a possibility that [if new regulations were introduced] the extra cost due to the various procedures would be passed on through the purchase price.” He added, “Now, I am relived.”

Still, the evaluation of eel stocks is divided. EU and environmental groups insist that there is a risk of extinction of Japanese eels and other eel species. Calls are growing for relevant countries and regions, including Japan, to thoroughly implement resource management measures.

Prof. Kenzo Kaifu of Chuo University said, “This time, it was a diplomatic victory.”

But at the same time, he warned, “Even though the same level of supply could be maintained for the time being, it will not be the fundamental solution for the issue of resource management.”

“Proper resource management is necessary,” he said.