Trade Regulations for Eels Proposed by CITES for Sustainability Reasons as Japan Argues Restrictions Would Affect Imports

By Sho Funakoshi / Yomiuri Shimbun Staff Writer

13:05 JST, August 28, 2025

GENEVA — All eel species, including Japanese eels, should be subject to international trade regulations to ensure they remain sustainable, according to a proposal published Tuesday by the Secretariat of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).

The decision on whether to impose restrictions will be discussed at a meeting of the Conference of the Parties to CITES that will be held in Uzbekistan from late November.

The provisional assessments concluded that all eel species would appear to meet the criteria for inclusion in Appendix II of the Convention, which requires exporting countries to issue permits based on scientific grounds.

In June, the European Union proposed making all eel species be included in Appendix II and has urged for restrictions to be introduced from June 2027. At the Conference of the Parties, the CITES proposal requires a two-thirds majority to be adopted.

Japan argues that the international trade of Japanese eels does not pose a threat to their extinction and including the species in the trade regulations would affect imports.