Bronx, NY, Nov. 12, 2025—The Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) is calling on Parties to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) gathering at CoP20 in Samarkand to support Proposal 35, which would list the American eel (Anguilla rostrata) on CITES Appendix II. A CITES Appendix II listing would not prohibit trade but would ensure that any international trade in the species is legal, sustainable, and traceable, providing critical oversight to help prevent overexploitation and illegal trafficking.

The American eel, an iconic species native to North America, including the Bronx River in New York City,  is now listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List. Once abundant across rivers and coastal systems from Maine to Florida and throughout the Gulf of Mexico, American eel populations have plummeted to historic lows.

“Scientific evidence clearly shows that the American eel meets the criteria for inclusion in CITES Appendix II,” said Dr. Susan Lieberman, vice president of international policy for WCS. “This measure is vital to strengthen trade monitoring, aid fisheries management, and ensure the species’ long-term survival.

These extraordinary migratory fish face mounting threats, including overfishing, illegal trade, habitat fragmentation from dams, pollution, disease and climate change.”

American eels spawn in the Sargasso Sea, where larvae drift for up to a year before entering rivers as transparent glass eels. They then transform into pigmented elvers and later into yellow eels that may live for decades in freshwater or estuarine habitats before maturing into silver eels and returning to the sea to spawn once before dying.

As populations of Japanese and European eels have collapsed, demand for American eels—particularly glass eels—has surged, with prices exceeding $2,300 per pound, driving illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) trade.

Since 2012, WCS has conducted pioneering research on American eels in New York’s Bronx River, studying the impacts of dams on eel abundance and movement. Over 1,650 eels have been captured and 531 tagged as part of a long-term monitoring effort. The studies reveal that eel abundance declines upstream of dams, highlighting the need for habitat restoration and fish passage improvements.

This program has also provided educational opportunities for students, interns, and volunteers to engage in hands-on aquatic conservation, linking local action with global efforts to restore freshwater connectivity.

Anguillid eels worldwide are declining under similar pressures—habitat loss, overharvesting, pollution, disease, and climate change. Several species are already listed under CITES, underscoring the urgent need for coordinated international management.

WCS urges CITES Parties to act decisively to conserve the American eel and related anguillid species through science-based policies and international cooperation.

“The fate of the American eel reflects the health of our rivers, coasts, and oceans,” said Lieberman. “By supporting Proposal 35, the global community can take a crucial step toward ensuring these remarkable creatures persist for future generations.”

The Wildlife Conservation Society’s connection to this species goes back a full century. In 1925, the New York Zoological Society—as WCS was then known—sent the research vessel Arcturus on an ambitious scientific voyage led by Bronx Zoo naturalist William Beebe. Among the scientists aboard was marine biologist Dr. Marie Fish, whose research in the Sargasso Sea confirmed for the first time that American eels begin their lives there. 

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