Daily Junction Play
792watching now
DW Documentary 11 Jul 2026 40 here now

On the smugglers’ trail - Making billions from tiny eels | DW Documentary

The European eel is threatened with extinction. But it is also a highly sought-after commodity on the global market. The trade in young eels is booming. And it’s increasingly controlled by organized c

For You

Because of what you watch

Comments (19)

Daily Junction discussion mixed with clearly attributed comments from the original video provider.

Join in — free. Comments on Daily Junction are for members, so real names stay rare and bots stay out.

One field. We email you a 6-digit code — no password needed. Your comment is kept while you do it.

Under 13? You’ll need a parent’s OK first — it takes them one click.

@
The cat that lounges on the desk behind the lamp and likes the warm lights is called Bambi 😽
@
The power dynamic between the wealthy and the poor creates a situation in which the poor do all of the real work while the rich sit back and collect. And the rich somehow feel put upon when they are asked to pay taxes.
@
😂😂😂man what era are we living in 😂don’t memory cards exist ???
@
eelegal trade
@
@armouros From YouTube ↗ 13 Jul 2026 1
English old man can retire but is addicted to the power.
every word out of his mouth is hiding the truth behind nature conservation.
@
are these eels living outside of water also?
@
Its just mind blowing from harvesting those tiny bits of glass eel in the Carribeans by the lowly fishermen who are paid pittance and being transported to the UK then changing hands thru numerous traders in Poland then reaching Kaliningrad then the money trail. 😮 Thanks DW for this. 👍🏻👏
@
For you who don't listen to every word in the opening and complaining why it can't be cultivated. Let me tell you. 1) In 2014, I was in training for eels business in South East Asia, from catching it in the wild to raising it to "consumption size" then export it which will eventually ends in Japan. 2) I also catch mature big eels (I'm talking about 5kg - 15kg size Giant Marbled Eels) in higher valleys where there are rivers using fishing hooks and fishing line like how you catch fish normally.
Eels CAN NOT be cultivated in traditional sense like how you keep hen and rooster in captivity and they will produce eggs which then hatch and create another generation of chickens. This is not the case for Eels, unfortunately. Eels reproduction can not be simulated in captivity because it has pretty unique parameters that needs to be "satisfied" naturally for them to reproduce glass eels, for example, they reproduce in deep sea, at certain temperature, at certain water pressure, and so on. It is not possible to create an environment like that using our tech today, even the eels itself is a "mystery" fish, still not much known to scientists to this day.
@
Third comment 😂
@
Second comment 😂
@
First comment 😂
@
GET TO THE MONEY BRO.
@
Our rivers and creeks were full of eels we treat them as a plague, now they barely exist, they're in extinction this in less than 10 years. I remember to go swiming and grab them with bare hands, now they're just a memory. Some day the only species on earth will be men and only men.
@
Endangered but Restricted.
Such a ridiculous concept, trying to save the species but won't let it be cultivated.
@
my husband has a Korean eel skin wallet pre war.....very soft and supple.....
@
Ask them how they reproduce that information is valuable
@
I find it odd that Europe just allows this to happen so pathetic tbh
@
I just discovered DW Documentary today and watched this. I cannot believe the quality of investigation and production and that it's just available on youtube for free. Also, how the hell did you get to the Chinese mafia and why do people like that agree to talk? Is it for the fame? I wanna work for you... My favorite bit from the film was Peter Wood, supporting Kaliningrad's trade and the Russian war, going "Producers like ourselves are more at risk than the eel." XDD The lies people tell themselves to survive. The mafia are at least honest.
@
Love the guy driving his car and looking through his house window. I wouldn’t have known he was the eel kingpin without that intro for him.