Bringing Them to 'Eel?

 

The migratory European eel (Anguilla anguilla) is on the red list as a critically-endangered species. In spite of this, for 50 years, the UK Glass Eels Company have exported these transparent larval eels from the Severn estuary to Kaliningrad  (Russia). Glass eels are the earliest stage that hatches from eggs and  transform into elvers (the next developmental stage) as they return to the ocean. European eels are thought to mature in the Sargasso sea before returning to the river left by the glass eel. In 2024, the UK company exported circa 3 million glass eels to Russia. These were supposedly to help a reintroduction programme in the river around Kaliningrad. Glass eels are, however, a delicacy in some restaurants. Fifty years is also a very long time for a reintroduction programme. The UK government has finally banned the export of eels to Russia. What took them so long? (https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/mar/28/export-of-endangered-eels-to-russia-ends-after-uk-government-ban). Red-list species need all the help they can get! The UK ban only seems to have materialised after extended pressure from environmental groups.