WCC 2016 Rec 099 - Activity Report

The 1st International Eel Science Symposium was held at ZSL 13th-15th June 2017 - https://ifm.org.uk/events/event/1st-uk-international-eel-science-symposium/. Around 150 delegates attended from five continents, and a workshop, convened by IUCN was held on 16th June. This gathered 20 key delegates in order to collate current thinking on the status of these species in order to publish a peer reviewed-paper; this is presently being finalised and we would expect this to be submitted early in 2018 for review.

The chair of the AESG presented remotely at the first workshop relating to anguillid eels to be held in Indonesia. The presentation focussed on using the Red List as a prioritisation tool and what lessons have been learned from other mechanisms that have been used to manage and conserve these species.

The IUCN AESG took part in both the CITES Animal Committee and Standing Committee meetings in 2017. We have engaged with the secretariat with regard to the delivery of elements of Decision 17.186-17.189 (https://cites.org/eng/dec/valid17/81868) as well as a number of range states in relation to the regional workshops associated with the decisions that are expected to take place in the first half of 2018 prior to the 30th Animal Committee meeting.

Working with the CMS secretariat, the Government of Monaco and the Sargasso Sea Commission, developed of Concerted Actions that were adopted the 12th CMS CoP. This involved engagement with other range states, particularly the EU, and built upon the 1st European Eel Range state workshop that was held in Galway, Ireland in November 2016 - http://www.cms.int/en/meeting/first-range-state-workshop-european-eel. The 2nd Range state workshop is planned for 2018 and members of the IUCN Anguillid Eel Specialist Group (AESG) will be inputting to the agenda and attending.

In collaboration with National agencies in the Philippines - Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources, and Department for the Environment and Natural Resources - ZSL and TRAFFIC completed the delivery of a three year Darwin Initiative funded project relating to anguillid eels on 30/6/17. This project related to the exploitation and trade of anguillids in rural communities and the freshwater environment more broadly. The project helped to elevate these species in the national and regional context and resulted in several outputs including a trade report - http://www.trafficj.org/publication/14_Slipping_Away.pdf - a number of national workshops, and a regional eel management plan which is being finalised at present. This project was succeeded by another Darwin-funded project that will focus more on the freshwater environment, but anguillid eels will still be a species of focus for the three-year duration.