Relais & Châteaux chefs pledge to stop serving eel
Over the last 20 years, European scientists from the ICES have been issuing warnings about the alarming decline of this species
Relais and Châteaux’s World Culinary Council have voted to immediately remove eel from its own menus, as the fish is considered critically endangered and features on the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s (IUCN) red list of threatened species.
The association has called on the rest of its 580 hotels and restaurants to follow suit after its NGO partner Ethic Ocean launched an alert that public authorities must urgently listen to scientists who recommend suspending European eel fishing.
Over the last 20 years, European scientists from the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES) have been issuing warnings about the alarming decline of this species – and for the last three years, have recommended suspending fishing.
In October, the 21 elected Relais and Châteaux chefs gathered for the Association’s World Culinary Council and voted to approve an immediate ban of European eel from its menus.
In partnership with Ethic Ocean, Relais and Châteaux called on the 27 European Union ministers to hear this call to action and vote to protect this species on 11 December regarding fishing quotas.
The effort follows a similar approach taken by the association in 2009 to save Bluefin Tuna stocks in the North-East Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea, which were close to collapsing. This action contributed to public mobilisation around this species, which encouraged legislators to enact management measures.
As of earlier this year, Bluefin Tuna can now be caught once again off the coast of Cornwall.
Laurent Gardinier, president of The World Culinary Council, said: “We have an acute understanding that Relais and Châteaux, and our very art de vivre, is dependent on nature. We must lead in sustainability to protect the ecosystems and biodiversity that our culinary and travel experiences rely on.”
Gilles Boeuf, president of Ethic Ocean, added: “I am happy to see that the Relais and Châteaux association supports this alert, which aims, above all, to preserve an exceptional species that reflects humanity’s relationship with the environment. This cause to save the eel touches on many biodiversity issues. Let’s act before it’s too late.”