Genetic system for an integral traceability of European eel (Anguilla anguilla) in aquaculture and seafood products: authentication by fast real-time PCR

Wild juvenile eels or “glass eels” are caught and used as “seed” in aquaculture production. Eel farming is responsible for over 90 % of all Anguilla production worldwide. Prior to 1990, eel farming was almost exclusively carried out using species of local provenance. However, the exploitation of some species, as A. japonica, has resulted in an increased of eels from European trade, as well as glass eels and other life stages, to supply the aquaculture industry. All eel aquaculture is still based on wild source seed, and this primary resource for aquaculture should be controlled, knowing at all times the origin of the seed that is acquired for farming. Morphological authentication of glass eels is very difficult due to the few diagnostic characters in early stages. For this reason, in the present study a fast real-time PCR methodology has been developed for A. anguilla authentication, Europe’s most valuable species. The methodology developed was performed and validated in adult and glass eels. The results show that this methodology is specific and efficient, and it can be apply to adult and glass freshwater eel authentication.