Eels have been a staple of European diets for millennia, from London’s jellied eels to Spanish angulas. But the world’s appetite is bringing them to the brink of extinction.

European rivers once teemed with eels; now numbers have collapsed due to overfishing, habitat loss, pollution and climate change. Scarcity, combined with an insatiable demand for the grilled dish, has sent prices soaring and spawned a “thriving illegal trade”, said The Guardian .

Europol recently estimated that up to 100 tonnes of juvenile eels are smuggled from Europe each year, generating €2.5–3 billion in peak years . That makes eel trafficking one of the world’s most lucrative wildlife crimes.

Baby eels: a prized delicacy

“Tiny, translucent and no longer than a finger, juvenile European eels, also known as

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