UK Season
It has been a slow start for the English season. The weather has been extremely cold and for us in the West of the UK we have had exceptional falls of snow followed by extensive flooding.

The French season is drawing to a close and though not all the data has been published I think the consensus is that it has been a good season. We hope it will be repeated here.

A reminder we still have some part of the UK catch that in not reserved for restocking and is available for aquaculture/consumption.  All our stock from the UK is SEG certified.

The illegal exports from EU to Asia have increased significantly this year. It is surprising that consignments of glass eels are still arriving directly in Asia as general cargo. On the other hand the preferred routing for the suitcase method in the latter half of this season has been predominately from Morocco and transshipped to Asia via the Philippines and Vietnam. 

The legitimate glass eel catch within the EU is around 80/90 tonnes. There is a further black economy which is difficult to quantity. It is quite possible that the total EU glass eel production across UK, France, Spain and Portugal is well in excess of a 100 tonnes. As we know; the problem is that the EU market for aquaculture and restocking is no more than 30 tonnes with perhaps an additional 10 tonnes for direct consumption.

It is hardly surprising with a price differential of more than 1500 Euros between Europe and Asia (gross margin of 1.5 million per tonne) that there is now a major illegal parallel economy between the two continents.

This season the French authorities have invested significant resources in regulating the legitimate glass eel fishery. However their attitude to the black economy and exports to Asia are much more relaxed.  
 
The French quota has been set   at 64.85 tonnes a production level that has been agreed internally to be sustainable.  It is not the responsibility nor would it be fair for the French authorities to manage their quota to match the demand of the EU market.  A target of just 40 tonnes for the whole of the EU glass eel sector would be particularly damaging to the French sector.   

We should recognise that such an objective is economically, socially and culturally an impossible task for the French, on one hand to set a quota at 65 tonnes  at one level and  then restrict the fishing at another level. There has to be a process that will absorb the production. The French authorities like Odysseus find themselves between a rock and a hard place.

Maintaining the status quo and discreetly allowing the illegal exports to continue to Asia is a solution that works and in which nearly everyone is a winner.

The additional sales are worth at least 45 million Euros and this feeds down through the whole system. The fishermen win, intermediaries win, and the wholesale river price was not only greater this year but was also stable. It is a political safety valve. There would be unimaginable chaos and political upheaval if France was awash with 30-40 tonnes of glass eels with no market. In a bizarre sort of way even the aquaculture sector benefits because the last thing the sector needs is increased production stimulated by the opportunity to purchase surplus glass eels dumped on the European market.  While nearly everyone benefits there are exceptions and those organisations working towards the SEG standard face some difficulties.  The illegal trade is in not compatible with the SEG standard and it is understandable some French NGOs and even government organisations are reluctant to endorse the standard. The very public exposure of this illegal trade is not popular in France. The lack of an alternative market is a significant problem which will be difficult to address while CITES prohibits exports outside the EU.  

There have been some new developments this month.
http://www.sustainableeelgroup.org/2018/04/06/trafficking-threatens-eel-recovery/

CITES  needs to have the courage to recognise that is has created a parallel economy with very significant margins that has incentivised illegal exports on a scale that was simply unthinkable. Unless there is a change of mind-set this  will frustrate the recovery of the eel across Europe.

Asia
Anguilla anguilla.  Stocks and supplies are decreasing and   the market is in most part fulfilled and in balance. Prices remain stable around 4.5 RMB per piece. How many tonnes have ended up in China? It is impossible to say. There multiple routes of entry and very limited records. Perhaps there is visibility for 35 tonnes. The suitcase bust has impacted on supplies in Asia and there is now only one operator using the general cargo route at the moment. I sense that there just a few more glass eels available for sale in France as the suppliers have to adjust to the new market reality.

Anguilla japonica. The total production to date is about eight tonnes. Prices at the start of the season were, for a short time, as high as 50 rmb piece. They have dropped to 25 though the price has recently been restored to 30 rmb per piece. The price is really still too high to stimulate much interest. Those producers that wanted glass eels have now purchased them.
 
Anguilla rostrata.  Production from Caribbean this year was nine tonnes. Price 6.5 RMB per piece. Very little from Dominican, reports of some catches in Haiti and I have no idea about Cuba. The production this year is likely to impact on the demand for stock from US and Canada. However the season opened with a vengeance on March 22 in Maine in spite of the fishing conditions which if judged by European standards would be impossible.