A Shadow Economy in a Failing State

In the rivers and estuaries of Haiti, a nation gripped by profound political and humanitarian crises, a lucrative and shadowy trade is flourishing. On Tuesday, November 18, 2025 (EAT), reports from international observers, including the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), continue to highlight how armed gangs are exploiting the illicit market for juvenile American eels to finance their operations. These translucent baby eels, known locally as "Zangi," are caught by local fishermen and sold into a global supply chain that funnels cash directly into the hands of the same criminal organizations that control vast swathes of the country, including an estimated 90% of the capital, Port-au-Prince.

The trade thrives amidst the nation's near-total collapse of state authority following the 2021 assassination of President Jovenel Moïse. With the government paralyzed and security forces overwhelmed, gangs have established a form of criminal governance, imposing their own rules and running protection rackets. This illicit eel trade has become a key economic pillar for these groups, providing a steady stream of revenue used to purchase weapons and consolidate power, further fueling a cycle of violence that has displaced over 1.3 million people.

The Global Demand: A High-Stakes Market

The demand for these baby eels, or "glass eels," is driven almost entirely by the aquaculture industry in East Asia. Because eels cannot be commercially bred in captivity, farms in China, Japan, and South Korea are completely dependent on wild-caught juveniles to stock their ponds. These farms grow the eels to maturity for the food market, where they are considered a delicacy. This dependency has created a voracious global appetite for glass eels, with prices fluctuating wildly based on catch sizes. At their peak, prices have exceeded USD 5,000 per kilogram, making them one of the most valuable fish by weight in the world. Some reports have noted prices for American eels reaching over USD 2,300 per pound (approximately KES 299,000).

A regulatory loophole exacerbates the problem. While the critically endangered European eel (*Anguilla anguilla*) is protected under Appendix II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), which strictly controls its trade, the American eel (*Anguilla rostrata*) is not currently listed. This lack of international regulation for the American eel has created a legal grey area that traffickers in countries with weak governance, like Haiti, are ruthlessly exploiting.

Conservation at Risk

The American eel is already classified as 'Endangered' on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species, with its population at historic lows due to overfishing, habitat loss from dams, pollution, and climate change. The uncontrolled harvesting in Haiti adds immense pressure on a species already in decline. The eels have a complex life cycle, spawning in the Sargasso Sea before their larvae drift for months on ocean currents to the coasts of the Americas. They mature in freshwater rivers for up to 30 years before migrating back to the sea to reproduce once and die. This intensive, unregulated fishing of juveniles in Haiti risks decimating future generations, pushing the species closer to collapse.

Parallels to Kenya's Wildlife Crime Challenge

While Haiti and the eel trade may seem distant, the underlying dynamics offer stark warnings for Kenya. The situation illustrates a critical global security theme: the convergence of organized crime, state fragility, and illicit wildlife trafficking. In Kenya, criminal syndicates have long exploited the high value of ivory and rhino horn, fueling poaching and corrupting officials to move contraband through transit hubs like Mombasa's port. A 2016 TRAFFIC report identified corruption and security loopholes as key enablers of this trade. These networks undermine national security, arm non-state actors, and erode the rule of law, just as the eel trade does in Haiti.

Furthermore, as Kenya successfully cracks down on iconic species trafficking, criminal networks are diversifying into lower-profile but highly profitable markets, such as the recent case involving the trafficking of thousands of harvester ants. This demonstrates that no species is safe when a lucrative black market exists. The Haitian eel trade is a powerful example of how criminals pivot to exploit any unregulated natural resource, regardless of its ecological importance. For Kenyan authorities and conservation groups, it underscores the need for proactive intelligence, robust legal frameworks, and international cooperation to combat the entire spectrum of wildlife and environmental crime, not just the most high-profile cases.

The UNODC has warned that the eel trade in Haiti is part of a wider criminal network involved in money laundering and drug trafficking, creating a complex, multi-faceted criminal enterprise. Tackling this requires a sophisticated response that goes beyond simple enforcement to address the political instability and economic desperation that allow such markets to thrive. Without a concerted international effort to restore stability in Haiti and regulate the global eel trade, this lucrative black market will continue to empower violent gangs, devastate a vulnerable species, and serve as a cautionary tale for nations, including Kenya, on the front lines of the global fight against wildlife crime.