IMPEL Action Plan Against Wildlife Trafficking Meeting and Joint Inspection in Lisbon, 11-12 January 2024 –Tackling the Glass eel Trafficking

1 Feb, 2024

On 11 and 12 January took place, in Lisbon, Portugal, a meeting and a joint inspection of the IMPEL project “Good practices in the implementation of the EU Action Plan Against Wildlife Trafficking”, hosted by the National Institute for Nature Conservation and Forests (ICNF), CITES management authority and also nature conservation authority in Portugal. 

15 representatives from 7 countries (Portugal, Albania, Czech Republic, Romania, Malta, Kosovo, and Lithuania) and a representative from Europol, attended the meeting and joint inspection. 

The aim of the meeting and joint inspection was to share information and intelligence against the Glass eel (European eel - Anguilla anguilla) trafficking. Representatives from Portuguese enforcement authorities (National Republican Guard - Nature and Environment Protection Service, Maritime Police, and National Institute for Nature Conservation and Forests), representatives from the Public Prosecutors, and a representative from Europol, present what has been done to tackle the illegal poaching and trafficking on the glass eel.

With the support of the (GNR-SEPNA), who coordinates the operational surveillance in the Tejo River, two illegal poaching nets for glass eel were arrest from the river. 

The action included a site visit to the Customs facilities at the Lisbon Airport and to the surveillance center operated by the Public Security Police, where the procedures to identify and catch illegal smuggling and to arrest glass eel and the mules were explained.

The aim of ‘Good practices in the implementation of the EU Action Plan against Wildlife Trafficking’ IMPEL project is to analyse the different good practices to implement the EU tools to tackle wildlife trafficking, and to build an orientation guide that can be shared and used by all Member States.

More joint inspections and a final workshop to share the results of the project will be organized in 2024 by the project team.

For more information about the project click here.

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