Inside the illegal eel trade: is there a way to stop Europe’s biggest wildlife crime before it’s too late?

Interviews with experts and key players across four countries reveal why efforts to stop the multibillion-euro trafficking industry have failed - and how to save the endangered fish

By 10am on the midsummer Day of the Ox, the city of Narita smells of charcoal and sugar. The cobbled road is thronged with visitors lining up to buy grilled eel, a traditional delicacy believed to cool the body and keep spirits up in the humid weather.

We'll be so sad if it becomes extinct and we can't eat eel any more," says a customer sitting on the tatami-mat floor in Kawatoyo, a popular restaurant specialising in grilled eel, which has been operating for more than 115 years.

Kabayaki-style eel, grilled with tare sauce, served at Kawatoyo restaurant in Narita. Photograph: Toru Hanai