European eel

Published November 2010, revised December 2010.

ICES reiterates its previous advice that all anthropogenic mortality (e.g. recreational and commercial fishing, barriers to passage, habitat alteration, pollution, etc.) affecting production and escapement of eels should be reduced to as close to zero as possible until there is clear evidence that the stock is increasing. A concerted effort by all European countries to conserve eel habitats is urgently needed.  

Given the current record-low abundance of glass eels, ICES reiterates its concern that glass eel stocking programs are unlikely  to  contribute  to  the  recovery  of  the  European  eel  stock.  This  is  because  (a)  there  is  no  surplus  anywhere  of  glass eel to be redistributed to other areas and (b) there is evidence that stocked/translocated eels experience impairment of their navigational abilities