All Charges Dropped.

My acquittal of all charges against me when it came to sentencing on the 14th December is not a cause to celebrate. It is simply relief. My life has been turned upside down for the last three years. The continual pressure has taken a toll on my physical and mental health. It is a huge price to pay for being innocent. It will never be possible to redress legal and financial costs to the business.
It is a time when you can easily see who are your friends and enemies. I am unlikely to ever know why or who instigated this investigation. I am deeply indebted to those persons who supported me and the company through these difficult times, many of you were very generous in offering help and support. It is time to move on, but for a few there will be scores to be settled.
My investigation has been a major distraction for the authorities in trying expose the black economy and track the exports to Asia. I sense having spent hundreds of thousands of Euros on this investigation with no result there will be some reluctance to release funds for prosecutors to finance further investigations.

The Sustainable Agenda.
It is time to catch up on our program in France. A lot of ground has been lost. We have immediately re- started the plan for a local sustainable agenda. Last week Alex Senechal from MacAlister Elliot carried out an audit on a selective group pf volunteers fishing the Gironde and Seudre. We await the outcome of his report to SEG.

The Evolution Of The Season So Far......

Before Christmas
Compared to this time last year there has been less production but on the other hand weather conditions are not comparable. Glass eels are starting to appear. For Asia it is very different. There is at the moment a global shortage of glass eel. Up to Christmas just 100 kgs of A. japonica. Price 40 RMB per piece. Last year it was less than 10. Assuming the count is 5000 pieces per kilo this equates to 25,000 Euros per kilo.
At this time of year A. rostrata is sourced not from the US but the Caribbean, the price is 4500 USD per kilo. I have no price for A. anguilla. Traders seem to be being a little more discrete about the price of A. anguilla in Asia this year.

After Christmas
We have seen a slight fall in the price of A. japonica to 36 RMB per piece. This high price is not sustainable. However it would appear that the overall supply position has not changed. The price for A. rostrata is now 6000- 6500 USD per kilo. This is very high for the Caribbean. Last year the season started below 2000 USD per kilo. We are not trading in the Dominican anymore. It is a difficult, dangerous and corrupt environment to work in.

I now have a price for A. anguilla 4.2 RMB per piece. The piece count was more than 3000 pieces per kilo suggesting they came from southern Europe. The price equivalent is greater than 1600 Euros per kilo. Small quantities are involved at the moment, the suitcase transport system being the preferred method. A reminder the approximate price of gold per kilo is 40,000 USD and 34,000 Euro respectively.

There was an expectation with the Christmas season finished and only the New Year fete remaining prices should fall. Prices went up and not down which probably reflects the opportunity to trade in Asia. This price increase has made the traditional Christmas trade in Spain very challenging.
We have seen nearly 10 years of ineffective regulatory control. The current methodology simply does not work. In any other business if after ten years the system was not working you would change it. The fundamental approach is wrong. We are subrogating the control of the glass eel exports to criminals.
It seems that in spite of all the good intentions little is being done to protect the legitimate trade in Europe.

The New Year.
Prices have fallen. More or less in line with previous years. The situation is workable again. The black economy continues to operate but there is space at the moment for some legitimate trade. Let’s hope supplies of glass eel in Asia improve and we have a period of stability.

Regards,

Peter Wood.

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UK Glass Eels · 123 Hempsted Lane, Gloucester, United Kingdom · Gloucester, England GL25JY · United Kingdom