this post was submitted on 18 Jun 2026
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Eel Smuggling Is The Organized Crime Racket You’ve Never Heard Of (www.currentaffairs.org)
submitted 1 week ago by thelastaxolotl@hexbear.net to c/earth@hexbear.net
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cross-posted from: https://news.abolish.capital/post/57983

Eel Smuggling Is The Organized Crime Racket You’ve Never Heard Of

Despite being the world's most trafficked animal, the European eel receives surprisingly little sympathy. It lacks the mammalian charisma of the creatures whose plights dominate conservation campaigns; among them the shy, helpless pangolin and the stoically intelligent elephant. By contrast, the eel is viewed by many as a source of revulsion: a slimy, writhing reason to stay out of the water. Yet behind inscrutable eyes, it harbors many secrets. This is the story of how an elusive and often misunderstood fish found itself at the center of an international smuggling network.

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[–] test_@hexbear.net 9 points 1 week ago

So they are smuggling them as tiny juveniles and then growing them. How can that be much cheaper than farming them?

European eels are currently impossible to breed in captivity

...ah

Despite extensive research and centuries of curiosity, we still do not fully understand how they reproduce. Spawning has never been witnessed by human eyes and no eggs have ever been found in the wild. However, research has shown that all European and American eels originate from the Sargasso Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, which is the only sea on Earth with no land boundaries. Instead, it is surrounded by four major currents that play a crucial role in the lifecycle of eels

So they're kinda like reverse Salmon. They breed at sea and live inland.

Under artificial conditions, scientists have brought eels to maturity and produced larvae from harvested eggs, but none have survived beyond 200 days. They believe that the breakthrough needed to bring on metamorphosis is being held back by yet another mystery, as we still do not fully understand the natural feeding habits of eels at this phase in the lifecycle.