Decision Not to list Eel as Species at Risk Highlights Need for Further Management Measures
December 3, 2025
HALIFAX—Yesterday, Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) made public its decision to not list American eel (Anguilla rostrata) under the Species At Risk Act, which would have prohibited the commercial catch of these species. The statement by the department says that management will instead be focused under the Fisheries Act.
American eel was assessed as Threatened by the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC) in 2012. While COSEWIC assessments are expected every 10 years, there has been no new assessment of the overall population.
“This decision has been a long time coming, and provides some overdue clarity in the management of this important species. After 13 years, the responsibility to recover the population is no longer in limbo,” says John Couture, Senior Fisheries Advisor at Oceans North.‘“The eel population has declined significantly from historic levels, and despite new fishery regulations, unregulated and unreported harvesting and habitat loss still threatens their future.”
Eels have long been fished by communities around Atlantic Canada and are particularly important for Indigenous peoples. More recently, the juvenile eel fishery has become especially valuable: elvers (eels early in their lifecycle) are fished from rivers and then exported, where most are grown to full size in aquaculture facilities. Elvers are also the subject of significant levels of illegal trade domestically and around the world.
“The world is watching how Canada and other major players in the eel trade manage this species in the coming years.”
– Katie Schleit, Oceans North’s Fisheries Director
This decision comes on the heels of a proposal last week at the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), where Canada spoke against measures which would have ensured global cooperation in legal and sustainable trade of eel species (including American eel). These measures were ultimately defeated; however, a non-binding resolution was adopted that urges countries including Canada to improve data-gathering and eel conservation globally.
The decision not to list American eel under SARA is also one of the first times the “Default Listing Directive” has been triggered. First adopted in 2014, this policy means that if a decision is made not to list, DFO must develop a comprehensive workplan within two years to help recover the species.
“Just because eels aren’t listed under SARA, the work for sustainable management doesn’t stop. While the workplan and CITES resolution are much-needed steps on the road to recovery and legal trade, the world is watching how Canada and other major players in the eel trade manage this species in the coming years,” says Katie Schleit, Fisheries Director at Oceans North.