As the year draws to a close and the festive season begins, the Sustainable Eel Group extends its warmest wishes to all those who have supported our conservation efforts, to our valued certificate holder community, and to our partners in civil society and government around the world. Christmas offers an opportunity to reflect on the progress made over the past twelve months and to consider the enduring responsibility we share to safeguard the European eel, and the other freshwater eel populations which lack Appendix II-level protections. We are taking a moment to acknowledge the culture of collaboration, dedication, and mutual trust that underpins our work, and to recognise that conservation is as much about people and communities as it is about species and the habitats.

Over the past year, we have made significant strides in advancing responsible eel management: the SEG Standard in particular has continued to evolve, providing a framework for transparency, traceability, and sustainable practice across the sector which ensures that conservation objectives are translated into tangible, measurable outcomes. Our engagement at CITES CoP20 placed eel conservation firmly on the international agenda, enabling dialogue with governments, scientists, and stakeholders from across the globe on trade, regulation, and the long-term stewardship of this critically important species. These discussions underscore the necessity of coordinated, evidence-based policy and the role that international collaboration plays in ensuring the future of eel populations.

Beyond advocacy and regulation in the most formal sense, the Sustainable Eel Group has strengthened strategic partnerships with leading conservation organisations such as Oceans North and the Wildlife Conservation Society, broadening the reach and impact of our work. Closer engagement with national governments and with the European Commission’s Directorate-Generals for Fisheries and the Environment has enabled more direct input into regulatory and policy initiatives, aligning practical action with macro-level environmental objectives. Collectively, these initiatives illustrate that the challenges of conservation are principally ecological, but also social and economic, requiring sustained cooperation, informed decision-making, and a long-term perspective.

Christmas is an important time for the eel sector, for eel conservation, and for eel issues, functioning as a reminder that eel has long held, and still holds, a place in the cultural life of communities across Europe. From family kitchens to communal celebrations, the species continues to shape holiday traditions, connecting generations and linking heritage, cuisine, and identity, and whilst our focus remains on conservation, these customs provide a reminder of the broader significance of the species we protect. The stewardship of natural resources is inseparable from the preservation of culture and tradition.

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Eel Traditions at Christmas

In Italy, the eel has occupied a central place in Christmas Eve observance for centuries, particularly in the south, where capitone became an established feature of the Vigil meal. Its prominence reflects early Christian dietary customs, in which abstention from meat elevated fish to ritual importance, and older symbolic beliefs that associated the eel’s movement with moral and spiritual meaning. By the nineteenth century, the purchase and preparation of live eels in cities such as Naples had become a recognised part of the seasonal economy, with dedicated markets and highly codified methods of preparation, most notably frying in olive oil. In northern regions, including the Po River basin and lagoon communities such as Comacchio and Venice, eel traditions evolved differently, with roasting, stewing, and preservation methods reflecting local environments. Through migration, these practices were later incorporated into the Feast of the Seven Fishes, where eel continues to function as a marker of continuity and origin within Italian diaspora communities.

In the Basque Country, angulas were once a commonplace feature of winter diets, harvested in large quantities from the beaches of northern Spain and western France where glass eels were once historically abundant. Over time, their association with Christmas emerged from their seasonal availability, with simple preparations reflecting the calendar dates of the migration more so than anything else. As eel populations declined over the course of the twentieth century, angulas gradually shifted from everyday food to festive delicacy, and eventually to an item of exceptional expense. Today, the tradition persists largely through imitation products made from whitefish, allowing the recognisable form of the Christmas dish to remain while reflecting the ecological and economic transformation that has taken place.

In Toledo in central Spain, the marzipan eel reflects a distinctive convergence of history, religion, and traditional skill rooted in the city’s medieval tradition of Convivencia, where Jewish, Muslim, and Christian communities shaped a shared cultural life. Produced in long-established workshops in the Jewish Quarter and made from almonds and sugar using methods now protected under the European Union’s geographical indication programme, the marzipan eel emerged as both a culinary and symbolic response to change. When eels were once abundant in the Tagus River, they were eaten directly; as they disappeared, confectioners preserved their presence in sweet form, adding scales to the marzipan eel to render it acceptable across religious boundaries. Today, the marzipan eel remains a consistent feature of the Christmas season, sustaining cultural memory whilst illustrating how traditions born of abundance can endure by adapting to altered ecological and social realities.

In Sweden, eel has traditionally formed part of the Christmas smörgåsbord, particularly in southern coastal regions where fishing communities developed preservation techniques suited to long winters. Smoked eel, prepared and served with restraint, reflects a broader culinary culture shaped by seasonality and conservation. Its place at the Christmas table has historically signified both regional identity and the practical knowledge required to manage and preserve food resources in northern climates, reinforcing the role of eel as a cultural constant within Swedish festive life.

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The Sustainable Eel Group wishes all supporters, partners, and certificate holders a joyful, reflective, and peaceful Christmas Eve and holiday season, and a new year filled with collaboration, responsible stewardship, and the preservation of both cultural and natural legacies.