Haitian gangs and criminal networks are profiting from a booming export market in baby "glass" eels (locally called zangi), which drift from the Sargasso Sea into river mouths and are exported mainly to Asia. The American eel is listed as endangered by the IUCN but is not fully covered by CITES rules, prompting the EU and Panama to push for broader protections at a CITES meeting on November 24. UN experts warn the opaque trade enables money laundering and powerful actors to exploit the sector, while impoverished fishers receive a tiny share of the export value. Campaigners urge stricter regulation, international protections and support to help fishers transition to safer livelihoods.
Haiti's Baby-Eel Trade: Glass Eels Fuel Gang Profits and Global Demand
Haitian gangs and criminal networks are profiting from a booming export market in baby "glass" eels (locally called zangi), which drift from the Sargasso Sea into river mouths and are exported mainly to Asia. The American eel is listed as endangered by the IUCN but is not fully covered by CITES rules, prompting the EU and Panama to push for broader protections at a CITES meeting on November 24. UN experts warn the opaque trade enables money laundering and powerful actors to exploit the sector, while impoverished fishers receive a tiny share of the export value. Campaigners urge stricter regulation, international protections and support to help fishers transition to safer livelihoods.
02:07 PM, 11/18/2025Environment
Haiti's glass-eel trade fuels crime and international demand
Armed groups in Haiti are profiting from a growing export business in baby eels — translucent juveniles known locally as zangi — harvested from rivers and estuaries and sold abroad for high prices. Experts warn that most demand comes from Asia, where eels are a prized food, and that the opaque trade is enriching criminal networks that already terrorize communities across Haiti.
What are glass eels and where do they come from?
Glass eels are the juvenile form of the eel that drift each year from the Sargasso Sea in the North Atlantic toward coastal waters, including the shores of Hispaniola (shared by Haiti and the Dominican Republic). They enter river systems, grow in freshwater and later return to the sea to spawn.
Conservation and regulation
The European eel has been tightly regulated under CITES since 2009, but the American eel — which is visually indistinguishable from its European counterpart at the glass-eel stage — is not covered by the same international trade restrictions. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) lists the American eel as endangered, primarily because heavy fishing pressure threatens a species that commercial farms cannot yet breed in captivity.
International response
To stop American and European eels from being shipped to Asia under false labels, the European Union and Panama have proposed that CITES extend trade restrictions to all eels. If delegates adopt that proposal at the CITES meeting beginning in Uzbekistan on November 24, it could affect exporters and small-scale fishers alike. Haiti is not a CITES signatory, but the government says it has taken a "modest approach" by substantially reducing overall harvests while acknowledging limited reliable data on exploitation.
Crime, money laundering and opaque markets
UN officials and environmental campaigners say the sector is largely export-driven, poorly regulated and highly opaque — conditions that facilitate money laundering and the involvement of powerful criminal and political actors. Ghada Waly, outgoing head of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), warned there is "growing evidence that several Haitian nationals are part of a wider criminal network connected to lucrative eel trafficking, operating in Haiti and beyond." UN sanctions experts have increased monitoring of fishermen, intermediaries, customs officers and airlines after finding the trade created "an ideal environment for criminals to launder money."
"Powerful political and economic figures in Haiti use the eel industry to launder drug profits," UN officials reported.
Economic realities for fishers
Reliable export data are scarce, but a 2009 government estimate cited an export "capacity" of 800 tonnes, illustrating the commercial scale of the trade. Market reports indicate that one gram of exported Haitian eels — reportedly equivalent to seven to ten individual glass eels — can fetch between $3.60 and $4.50. By contrast, fishermen are paid between $0.50 and $1.50 per kilogram, according to the same reporting, underlining a stark discrepancy between export value and local pay.
Despite low pay, the income is attractive in Haiti's severe economic crisis, driving large numbers of people to work long, hazardous nights. From autumn through spring, fishers often work 12-hour shifts from about 6 pm until sunrise, wading barefoot in river mouths and using improvised gear such as mosquito nets mounted on wooden frames. Campaigners report dozens or hundreds of fishers needing medical treatment for infections and other ailments from these conditions.
Recommendations and next steps
Environmental campaigners and UN experts recommend ending or tightly regulating eel harvests and supporting coastal communities to transition to sustainable livelihoods. Possible measures include stronger national oversight of exports, international protections under CITES for all eel species to prevent mislabeling, targeted aid and training for fishers to shift to other seafood or income sources, and enforcement actions against criminal networks exploiting the trade.
Note: This article summarizes findings from UN and government reports and public statements by Haitian officials and UN agencies. Data on the sector remain limited and figures cited reflect the most recent public estimates and reporting.