| Summary: | In 2007, as a result of drastic population decline over the last century, European eels were added to Appendix II of CITES in order to regulate and limit its trade exploitation. However, illegal trade of these species is still rampant to meet consumption demand in Asia and Europe. This suggests that CITES is not armed with the tools necessary for effective implementation and not sufficiently using these tools; therefore, amendments to this treaty are necessary. A review of government reports and literature indicate existing gaps in European eels morphological and life cycle research along with technological limitations that contribute to poor implementation of CITES regulation for European eels resulting in significant presence of illegal trafficking. To address these limitations, CITES amendments are recommended to allow for more effective mitigation of European eel trafficking. However, an effective approach to trade regulation requires a dynamic policy approach. Relying on one instrument, such as CITES, to possess all the tools to deter illegal wildlife trafficking is unreasonable. Rather, multiple policies that employ different sets of tools should be implemented in a complementary way to promote sustainable trade practices.
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