The plight of the European eel.

Abstract

The European eel has seen a significant decline in population size since the 1980’s. In this thesis I shortly describe the life-cycle of the eel, from the hatching in the Sargasso Sea to their stay in Europe and their migration back to the Sargasso Sea. I then describe the causes for the decline, linked to their life-cycle. Changes in the ocean and oceanic currents influence the first life stages as well as fishery. Fishery also has an impact on the later life stages, next to habitat loss, obstructions to migration, a parasite and pollutants. After this, I describe the current measures, taken by the European Union, the Dutch government, fisheries and NGO’s. The European Union takes measures to limit fishery efforts, improve the water quality and ensure the food safety. Lastly, the European Union requires each member state to compose an Eel Management Plan. The Dutch government has done this, in the plan they describe several measures to protect the eel and set a target as to how much eel should escape to sea to migrate back to the Sargasso Sea. Next to this, the Dutch government is also responsible for the water quality. The eel sector and NGO’s also take measures to help the eel. In the evaluation of the measures it became clear that not all measures are successful in protecting the European eel and that much work still has to be done. Especially in the area of fisheries much can still be improved on, which is why I discuss this in more detail when giving my personal advice for future management. While the water quality has improved clearly in the past years, fishery efforts are still too intense for the current low population status and migration is still limited by obstructions. In the coming years, much work will have to be done if the European eel is to be preserved.