American Eel Range States Workshop

This workshop was hosted by the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources of the Dominican Republic, with support from the United States Fish & Wildlife Service and Fisheries & Oceans Canada, and was organized by the Secretariat of the Sargasso Sea Commission. The purpose of this workshop was to contribute to implementation of Decisions 17.186 and 17.187 on Anguilla species, adopted by the Parties to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna (CITES) at CoP17 in 2016. The workshop brought together representatives of the Range States, from the national authorities responsible for CITES, fisheries, and customs/enforcement, as well as national eel species experts. The workshop provided a unique opportunity to bring together all available information on the science and management of American eel throughout its range, and identify the challenges and difficulties associated with harvest, enforcement strategies and efforts, and regulation of trade, including illegal trade of the species.  

DOCUMENTS

Presentation Template (English) (Español)

Participants List (English)

Final Report (English)

Anguilla Customs Code Guidance (English)

PRESENTATIONS

Session One: CITES Eel Decisions and Global Range of American Eel

Chair: Dr David Freestone
Rapporteur: Mari-Beth DeLucia

• Working to Protect the "Golden Rain Forest of the Atlantic". Dr David Freestone (Sargasso Sea Commission)

• Background to the CITES Animal Committee Meeting. Dr Matthew Gollock (Zoological Society of London; Chair, IUCN Anguillid Eel Specialist Group). 

• The Geography of the American Eel. Dr David Cairns (Department of Fisheries and Oceans, Canada) 

Session Two: Overview of Global Trade in A. rostrata

Chair: Dr Matthew Gollock
Rapporteur: Robert Vagg

• Overview of recent trade in Anguilla spp., focusing on American Eel range States. Vicki Crook (Independent Eel Consultant, formerly TRAFFIC).

• U.S. Enforcement Efforts and Transnational Investigations of the Trafficking in American Eel. Special Agent Snyder (U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Office of Law Enforcement). 

Session Three: Country Presentations

Chair: Nelson Garcia Marcano
Rapporteur: Vicki Crook

• Questionnaire Results. Mari-Beth DeLucia (IUCN Anguillid Eel Specialist Group).

• Dominican Republic Presentation. Pedro Montero D'Oleo (Dominican Republic)

• American Eels in Canada. Dr David Cairns, (Department of Fisheries & Oceans Canada)

• Overview of the American Eel Assessment Framework for Maritimes Region. R.G. Bradford (Department of Fisheries & Oceans Canada)

• Presentation by Conservation and Protection. Derreck Parsons (Department of Fisheries & Oceans Canada)

• Fisheries and Oceans Canada Presentation. Jennifer Hiltz (Department of Fisheries & Oceans Canada)

• Trade Routes of Anguillids From Harvest to Consumer. Andre Lupert (Department of Environment & Climate Change Canada)

• United States Presentations. Laura Noguchi and Thomas Leuteritz (U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service) and Kirby Rootes-Murdy (Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission)

• Bahamas Presentation. Dr Maurice Isaacs (Bahamas Department of Agriculture).

• Belize Presentation. Gilberto Young (Belize Fisheries Department). 

• Costa Rica Presentation. Dr Danilo Leandro and Lic. Berny Marín (CITES Authority for Fisheries).

• Cuba Presentation.

• Haiti Presentation. Jean Robert Badio (Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries Department)

• Honduras Presentation. Miguel Angel Medina Ramos. 

• Jamaica Presentation. Dr Wintorph Marsden (Ministry of Industry, Commerce, Agriculture, & Fisheries)

• Nicaragua Presentation. Luis Emilio Velasquez (Directorate of Fisheries Investigations)

QUESTIONNAIRES

Bahamas Response

Belize Response

Canada Response

Cuba Response

Dominican Republic Response

Haiti Response

Honduras Response

Jamaica Response

Panama Response

Mexico Response

Nicaragua Response

United States Response