Danish smokery defies calls to stop selling endangered eel

A Danish smokery is continuing to smoke and sell European eel on a large scale despite warnings from conservation groups, reports national broadcaster DR.

Henrik Olesen, co-owner of Hvide Sande Røgeri, has smoked around 1,500 eels in the past week alone and plans to process more. He maintains there are “plenty of eels” and will keep selling them as long as it remains legal.

The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) has urged an end to the practice, arguing that the threatened species belongs in the ocean, not on rye bread. However, Olesen rejects the call, stating that his business will continue operating within the law.

Eel researcher Michael Ingemann Pedersen from the Technical University of Denmark (DTU) contradicts Olesen’s claim, confirming that the European eel is classified as an endangered species.