Posted on 12/18/2023 9:19:19 PM PST by nickcarraway
Wildlife trafficking is an ongoing problem in Spain and throughout Europe. In a recent crackdown, authorities in Guadalajara have made a significant arrest and seized 170 kilos of live elvers.
On a routine inspection, Guardia Civil officers apprehended an individual on Tuesday, December 12, near Cifuentes, Guadalajara. During a Citizen Security patrol, officers identified a rental van which was parked at a service station.
Upon questioning the driver of the vehicle appeared nervous. The officer’s suspicions were well-founded as the van, which seemingly carried clothing, hid a more sinister cargo.
Elver Smuggling Exposed
In what appeared to be an ordinary vehicle, the Guardia Civil discovered several cork coolers nestled among boxes of clothes. These coolers contained a staggering 170 kilos of live elvers, an endangered species. The estimated market value of this illegal haul approaches €200,000. The driver was unable to prove the legal origin of the goods.
Efforts To Combat Illegal Trade
This led to the driver’s arrest on charges of illegal trafficking and trade in protected wildlife species, as well as smuggling offences. The Guardia Civil’s swift action resulted in the elvers being transferred to a fish farm, ensuring their survival and eventual return back into the wild.
International Implications And Enforcement
European eel populations have plummeted, as a result of poaching in Spain and illegal trafficking through ports and airports. The species nearly reached extinction in 2009, and was included in the CITES Convention, their protection is paramount.
Despite stringent regulations, including the EU’s ‘zero quota’ banning exports and imports with non-EU countries, illicit trafficking persists. Criminal groups often export these eels to Asian markets, where they are fattened and returned to Europe as smoked eel, fetching over €1,000 per kilo.
What the heck is an elver?
A baby eel.
OK, you answered my question as I was posting it. Thank you.
Did not know either. Learn something new every day.
Elf trafficking is one of the unspoken problems of our time.
What the heck is an elver?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
One shy of a twelver,
What the heck is an elver?
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One shy of a twelver,
Elver?!
Elver yourself, you brought her.
Most of us asked the same question. I was expecting a few Elvis wise cracks here.
Ha. I managed to read it wrong the right way. I read it as eels at first then realized I wasn't reading eels, then wondered what the heck an elver was. And then I thought it was a typo for Elves and it was a Babylon Bee article. But it wasn't.
This very long article answers everything you want to know about the Elver market.
Why Maine Is The Only State In The US With A ‘Significant’ Elver Fishery
Maine Public | By Nora Flaherty
Published May 1, 2018 at 5:59 AM EDT
That’s when the European Union banned all exports of European eel. (European eels are now listed as critically endangered, and Japanese eels endangered.)
While Maine is the only state with a commercial elver quota, it’s also legal to fish elvers in South Carolina and sell them. But a very small number of people do it, and the volume of elvers they catch is very small.
So, that’s why you read that Maine is the only state with a “significant” elver fishery.
It is a very lucrative highly regulated business in Maine and with that regulated business comes corruption and crime.
There is also a large urchin market from Maine that get processed here and the roe shipped to Aisa.
Keebler Elves are already short and have no diminutive form.
Oops, forgot the link
and one on urchins
It's so hard to find good help these days.
LOL....
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