EU proposes global eel trade curbs despite Japan's opposition

If adopted at the conference of the parties to the Washington Convention in Uzbekistan later this year, the proposal would require proof of legal capture and an export permit issued by the exporting country for Japanese eel and other species.

Japan plans to work with China, on which it relies heavily for eel imports, and South Korea to oppose the proposal, sources close to the matter said Thursday. The three countries and Taiwan held informal talks in Hamamatsu, Shizuoka Prefecture, on June 19-20 to coordinate their response.

"We believe there is no risk of extinction due to international trade," a Japanese farm ministry official said.

While the EU argues that Japanese eel populations have declined sharply, Japan contends that numbers have been recovering since the 1990s and that advances in aquaculture have reduced the need for glass eels -- juvenile eels used to stock farms.

It is also warning that regulation could drive up prices for glass eels, increasing the risk of poaching and smuggling.

Under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, species listed in Appendix I are prohibited from international trade for commercial purposes in principle, while those in Appendix II are deemed as species that could become endangered if trade is not strictly regulated.

The EU is seeking to list all 19 eel species and subspecies in Appendix II, including the Japanese eel, American eel and Southeast Asia's Anguilla bicolor. The regulations would apply not only to live glass eels but also to processed products, such as "kabayaki," a type of grilled eel.

The European eel has already been subject to such restrictions following an EU proposal to list the endangered species under Appendix II of the convention approved in 2007.

As reported previously, Japan's work-related mental illness cases top 1,000, a record for the 6th year.