“I didn’t know that!” is the standard response from most supermarket store managers when pressured on why they continue to sell eel, contrary to the directives of their parent companies or franchisers. Time and again, smoked eel appears in refrigerated counters. Alongside this lack of awareness among staff, the excuse is often made that the contracted smokehouse offered it and delivered it together with other smoked products.
Retail groups such as Aldi Nord/Süd, Edeka/Netto, Kaufland/Lidl, and Rewe/Penny are fulfilling their responsibilities and have permanently delisted eel – and with good reason. Most representatives of the genus Anguilla are classified as highly threatened: the IUCN Red List assesses them as “Critically Endangered”, and CITES lists them in Appendix II (trade permitted only after a non-detriment finding).
Eel cannot be bred in captivity. The complex biology of this cosmopolitan animal prevents this. The meat is not only popular as “smoked eel” in Europe, but the so-called “glass eel” – juvenile animals harvested in European coastal waters – is also considered a delicacy in Asia.
What can individuals do to counter the threat to eels? Keep your eyes open in supermarkets: if you spot eel in the refrigerated counter, point out politely on-site that this animal no longer belongs in retail. Especially with retailers belonging to the aforementioned companies, pointing out the guidelines of their contracting partners is helpful. Online, our “after” photo was also taken in a store belonging to one of these chains, where the retailer had no idea what they were doing. Nevertheless, there was no sign of understanding: they continue to sell eel. We will keep on this!
Source:
Umweltbundesamt: Nachhaltiger Handel(n)?! Aktivitäten des Lebensmitteleinzelhandels zum nachhaltigen Konsum im Ernährungsbereich aus Umweltsicht
