Status of Non-CITES Listed Anguillid Eels
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Status of non-CITES listed anguillid eels Matthew Gollock, Hiromi Shiraishi, Savrina Carrizo, Vicki Crook and Emma Levy Delivered by the Zoological Society of London 1 Acknowledgments This report was made possible with financial support from the CITES Secretariat. The authors would like to thank Karen Gaynor in the CITES Secretariat for support during the drafting of the report. We thank from TRAFFIC, Joyce Wu for supporting the study and James Compton and Richard Thomas for reviewing elements of the draft report. Camilla Beevor and Aaron Foy at ZSL are thanked for their legal and operational support, Kristen Steele for translation of documents, Joanna Barker for creating the range maps and David Curnick for editing a draft of the report. Kenzo Kaifu and Céline Hanzen are acknowledged for technical input. Parties are thanked for completing the questionnaires that informed this report and for reviewing a draft to ensure it is as accurate and up to date as possible. We also thank the individuals who responded to specific requests for information and clarification. Author affiliations Matthew Gollock and Emma Levy, Zoological Society of London, Regent’s Park, London, NW1 4RY, United Kingdom. Hiromi Shiraishi, TRAFFIC, The David Attenborough Building, Pembroke Street, Cambridge CB2 3QZ, United Kingdom. Savrina Carrizo - Independent consultant. Vicki Crook – Independent consultant. 2 Table of Contents Executive summary ................................................................................................................................ 4 1. General Introduction .......................................................................................................................... 8 2. Methods ............................................................................................................................................ 11 2.1 Review of existing published studies, reports and data .................................................. 11 2.2 Questionnaire .................................................................................................................... 14 2.3 Workshops ......................................................................................................................... 15 3. Species Accounts .............................................................................................................................. 16 3.1 Anguilla australis............................................................................................................... 16 3.2 Anguilla bengalensis ......................................................................................................... 18 3.3 Anguilla bicolor ................................................................................................................. 19 3.4 Anguilla borneensis ........................................................................................................... 21 3.5 Anguilla celebesensis ........................................................................................................ 22 3.6 Anguilla dieffenbachii ....................................................................................................... 23 3.7 Anguilla interioris .............................................................................................................. 25 3.8 Anguilla japonica ............................................................................................................... 25 3.9 Anguilla luzonensis ............................................................................................................ 29 3.10 Anguilla marmorata ........................................................................................................ 30 3.11 Anguilla megastoma ....................................................................................................... 31 3.12 Anguilla mossambica ...................................................................................................... 32 3.13 Anguilla obscura .............................................................................................................. 34 3.14 Anguilla reinhardtii ......................................................................................................... 35 3.15 Anguilla rostrata ............................................................................................................. 36 4. Trade of non-CITES listed anguillid eels ........................................................................................... 40 4.1 Global Anguilla eel production and trade ........................................................................ 40 4.2 Regional reports ................................................................................................................ 43 5. Conclusions ....................................................................................................................................... 60 References ............................................................................................................................................ 63 Annex 1 – Species Accounts ................................................................................................................. 84 Annex 2 – Full Trade Report ............................................................................................................... 134 3 Executive summary There are 16 species within the family Anguillidae, all of the genus Anguilla. Anguillid eels are globally distributed, and inhabit the fresh, brackish and coastal waters of more than 150 different countries. They feed and grow in continental waters, spawn in the marine environment and have multiple life stages. Their complex life history means that anguillids are susceptible to a range of threats. These include unsustainable exploitation and trade, changes in oceanic currents and/or climatic conditions, barriers to migration (including hydro-power stations which damage and/or kill eels), loss of freshwater habitat, disease and pollution. It is generally agreed that stocks of many of the anguillid eels, most notably in temperate Northern Hemisphere regions, have exhibited declines in recent decades due to a combination of these threats. In 2007, Anguilla anguilla was listed in Appendix II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). Since that time, it has been observed that this listing and/or Parties’ responses to the listing have had impacts on other species of anguillids. At the 17th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to CITES, four Decisions (17.186-17.189), relating to anguillid eels were adopted. Decision 17.186, states that the Secretariat shall contract independent consultants to undertake a study on non-CITES listed Anguilla species: the Secretariat shall, subject to external funding: b) contract independent consultants to undertake a study on non-CITES listed Anguilla species: i) documenting trade levels and possible changes in trade patterns following the entry into force of the listing of the European Eel in CITES Appendix II in 2009; ii) compiling available data and information on the biology, population status, use and trade in each species, as well as identifying gaps in such data and information, based on the latest available data and taking account inter alia of the Red List assessments by the IUCN Anguillid Eel Specialist Group; The CITES Secretariat contracted the Zoological Society of London (ZSL) to prepare the aforementioned report and ZSL in turn contracted TRAFFIC and consultants with expertise in eel trade issues and freshwater species assessments to deliver elements of the report. A questionnaire was developed to facilitate the gathering of relevant information from Parties. The CITES Secretariat made the questionnaire available to Parties as an Annex to Notification to the Parties No. 2018/018. Twenty responses to this Notification were received from Parties and a number of individuals were contacted directly when appropriate for further clarification. In parallel to this a review of relevant scientific and grey literature was conducted, and trade data were analysed. In addition to this, authors attended workshops in the Dominican Republic 4th-6th April and London 18th-20th April 2018 to collate further information and engage Parties. Species Accounts Available data were compiled for each species to provide an account of their present status. These accounts are briefly summarised below: Anguilla australis is a temperate eel primarily found in New Zealand and Australia, and appears to have the healthiest stock status of all the anguillids, with range States indicating that populations were stable. There are some concerns relating to the impacts of barriers to migration and while exploitation for export does occur, there are fisheries management mechanisms in place. 4 Anguilla bengalensis is a poorly understood species with a range that spans the Indian Ocean, having been identified in East Africa, and Central and South East Asia. Little information was available relating to threats, trade and use or species-specific management, and baseline data collection for this species is urgently needed. Anguilla bicolor is widely distributed between the Indian and Pacific Oceans. There have been a number of studies on the biology of the species, but the stock status is less well understood. The primary concern relating to this species has been an increase in exploitation and trade to East Asia, since