The Ontario Court of Justice has imposed a $25,000 fine on Bos Smoked Fish Inc. for illegally importing protected European Eel meat. The company pleaded guilty yesterday on August 1, 2024, to a charge under the Wild Animal and Plant Protection and Regulation of International and Interprovincial Trade Act (WAPPRIITA), related to the illegal importation of European Eel parts, including smoked eel and eel fillets.
The fine will be directed to the Government of Canada’s Environmental Damages Fund (EDF), ensuring the penalties contribute to environmental protection efforts. Additionally, approximately 662 kilograms of illegally imported eel meat have been ordered forfeited, removing the product from the commercial market. The eel meat had been purchased by the importer for $35,000.
In April 2023, Bos Smoked Fish Inc. imported 662 kilograms of what was declared as processed eel from the Netherlands into Canada. Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) enforcement officers inspected the shipment upon arrival and took samples for DNA analysis. Laboratory results from ECCC confirmed that the majority of the shipment consisted of European Eel.
Bos Smoked Fish Inc. was charged with importing European Eel, a CITES-listed species, without the necessary permit, in contravention of subsection 6(2) of WAPPRIITA.
The $25,000 fine will support the EDF, a program managed by ECCC that directs funds from fines, penalties, court orders, and voluntary payments to environmental restoration projects. Established in 1995, the EDF aims to invest in areas where environmental damage has occurred, promoting projects that repair or benefit the environment.
The European Eel is classified as critically endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s (IUCN) Red List (2018). Subject to stringent European Union eel regulations, the species faces significant risks of extinction if trade is not strictly controlled. Import and export of species listed in Appendix II of CITES are permissible only with the appropriate permits, ensuring legal, sustainable, and traceable trade.