On a ban of fishing for eels in order to save the European Eel (Anguilla anguilla) from extinction in Europe
The European Anglers Alliance (EAA), representing 11 European nations and over 3 million affiliated anglers, held its 13th General Assembly in Greenwich, United Kingdom. The EAA discussed the serious decline of the European eel (Anguilla anguilla) in European waters and put forward a new European eel resolution *.
Concerning the European eel:
- EAA believes that the European eel is a species threatened by extinction.
- Recruitment of elvers declined through the 20th century. Alarmingly, in 2007, elver numbers are now at only 1 to 2 % of what they were in the 1980s.
- In some areas eels suffers from parasites Anguillicolla crassus and/or pollution from hazardous substances (e.g. dioxins, PCBs)
- Is a species under heavy fishing pressure at all its life stages
The EAA recognizes that:
- Many things need be done to improve the eel habitats, and many obstacles in the eels’ migration routes need being removed or altered by national governments
- A European Eel Management Plan was adopted by national fisheries Ministers recently
- Every EU Member State has to create and implement a national eel management plan
- Eels were recently put on the CITES list Appendix II
- ICES find the European Eel Management Plan ‘escape to open sea‘ target is too low
- EAA finds that these European measures propose ‘too little too late’
The EAA calls for:
- Stop, as soon as possible, all fishing for eels at all its life stages
- Compulsory release of all eel by-catches
- Stop all commercial fisheries for eel, with potential compensation for loss of income
- Stop all sales and export of eels and elvers
- Fishing for eels and elvers should only be allowed for recovery purposes (e.g. tagging and re-stocking)
* The resolution was adopted by 21 out of 27 votes. Germany voted against; Switzerland abstained