This endangered fish will no longer appear on the menus of Relais & Châteaux restaurants
A fish highly prized by French chefs (but not only) is now threatened with extinction. Relais & Châteaux is calling on its members around the world to remove it from their restaurant menus.
The Comité International des Tables de Relais & Châteaux is known for its strong stance in favor of better eating. After calling for the removal of Eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean bluefin tuna from restaurant menus in 2009, the association is now taking action against a new critically endangered species. Committee members have voted to immediately remove eel from their menus, and are inviting the Group's 580 hotels and restaurants to follow suit. This decision follows an alert issued by Ethic Ocean, an NGO partner of Relais & Châteaux.
The European eel under threat
The European eel is featured on the menus of numerous establishments around the world, including France, Spain, Belgium, the Netherlands and Japan. It is also on the International Union for Conservation of Nature's Red List of Threatened Species. Although the eel has been endangered for some twenty years, the last three years have been more than alarming, and many scientists are calling for the fishing of this species to be suspended as soon as possible. According to their studies, eels are suffering from water pollution, destruction of their habitat, the halting of their life cycle, and illegal fishing to feed a black market.
Restaurateurs, too, can do their bit. "Chefs have a crucial role to play in stopping demand. We can prevent the extinction of eels to preserve biodiversity and enable future generations to continue to enjoy them, but only if we act now. As theworld's largest network of chefs, Relais & Châteaux wants to save this species," sums up Mauro Colagreco, vice-president of the association and head of the Mirazur restaurant in Menton.
As a result, 21 Relais & Châteaux chefs on the association's International Committee of Tables have voted to immediately suspend eel from their restaurant menus. The aim now, in partnership with Ethic Ocean, is to convince the 27 ministers of the European Union to take the necessary measures in December to save the species.
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