Basque fishermen face bans as billion-euro eel smuggling network expands across Europe

In Plentzia, a small Basque waterfront town, a ban on catching European eels—intended to halt a 95% population decline—has left traditional fishers facing severe income loss. Scientists note the eel's unique life cycle makes its glass-eel stage extremely valuable, commanding prices up to €9,000 per kilogram and fueling a criminal trade estimated at €3 billion in peak years. Criminal networks ship the eels to China, South Korea and Japan, increasingly using routes through Morocco, Mauritania and Senegal after tighter airport checks in Spain.

Law-enforcement operations such as Europol's Operation Lake have confiscated 22 tons and detained 26 suspects, but fines remain modest for small-scale fishers, keeping the risk attractive. Conservationists call for broader measures, including dam removal and stricter EU quotas, while a proposed CITES ban on all freshwater eels was rejected in 2025. Fisherman Unai Eizaguirre stresses that the eel is a cultural cornerstone, highlighting the tension between heritage and the species' survival.