| Abstract: |
Europol has seized 15 million endangered European eels, with 153 arrests across the EU; a 50% increase in arrests for the wildlife crime since last fall, according to specialist NGO the Sustainable Eel Group (SEG).The results were announced at a press conference held June 27 by Europol, the UK National Wildlife Crime Unit, and Spain’s Nature Protection Service (SEPRONA)."This is our flagship operation in terms of environmental crime," said Jose Antonio Alfaro Moreno of Europol. "All the arrests mentioned are in Europe with the majority from Spain, France, and Portugal.""The main actions have been taken by SEPRONA, they have led the way in Europe along with the Portuguese and French authorities. However, there are also five ongoing criminal cases in the USA carried out by the US Fish and Wildlife Service, involving the illegal import of eel meat coming from Asia containing DNA of the European eel."Glass (juvenile) eels are trafficked out of the EU, put into eel farms in Asia and then sent back to the US, Canada, and the EU, which is how the DNA can be tracked."The development of this technology being used in monitoring the DNA of the eel has allowed us to prove that the European eel is coming from Asia. We have also collaborated with the EU Enforcement Group and the EU Food Fraud Network."Increasing numbers of countries have joined the investigation, with Croatia, Czech Republic, Germany, Switzerland, and Macedonia helping inquiries in 2019."For the next season, we want to follow the line of the inquiry into eel meat production in Asia and DNA traces. |
