The European eel, which is declared to be in danger of extinction, continues its life without increasing its population or reducing its death rate.According to a report by the International Council for Marine Exploration (ICES), In Spain, only the Balearic Islands achieved their goal, where 40% of the samples managed to escape to the sea.r. Faced with this situation, WWF and ANSE demand that the European Commission take urgent measures to halt the extinction of the species, reduce mortality, and propose measures such as closure or significant restriction of fisheries, restoration of freshwater habitats and removal of barriers. in rivers.
The study, published this week, collects the results of evaluating the implementation of national management plans for the European eel, a critically endangered species. Thus, he concludes: The percentage of eels that manage to escape into the sea in the EU has not improved since 2012.
The aim set by the European Commission to reduce the mortality rate of European eels is to ensure that at least 40 percent of the biomass of European eels escapes to the sea. Again, silver eel escape is not increasing and even decreased in some areas Since Member States first reported the implementation of these plans in 2012.
The report shows that, out of a total of 84 eel management units (such as watersheds, river basins) in the EU, only nine met or exceeded the escape target out of the 16 units that met the target in 2012, and only one of them shows. an ever-increasing trend in silver eel escape.
Raúl García, fisheries coordinator for WWF Spain, said: “disappointing” review resultsReally questioning the EU’s eel recovery measures.
Turn off or restrict fishing
He adds, therefore, that since the regulation was adopted in 2007, NGOs have not seen any signs of improvement, thus urging the EU and its Member States to follow the scientific recommendations of ICES and the objectives of the Common Fisheries Policy. closure or significant restriction of fisheries.
They must also urgently consider measures to improve access to suitable habitats, the vast majority of which need to be restored. removal of artificial barriers to their migration“To improve its ecological situation and strengthen the fight against illegal fishing and international trafficking, as required by the Water Framework Directive,” said WWF Spain fisheries coordinator Raúl García.
ANSE’s Carmen Martínez stressed that the experts’ recommendations also influence the need to reduce “as much as possible”. Deaths from causes produced by human activity in addition to fishing, such as habitat degradation and fragmentationespecially because of the barrier effect they can have for such perennial species.
Martínez said that ANSE and WWF have been working for eight years on the marking and monitoring of eels living in different aquatic ecosystems in southeast Iberia, particularly around the Mar Menor and south of Alicante, and that coastal channels and not only natural but also some artificial wetlands are also reservoirs. used as
“Acting on freshwater habitats is essential if we want to improve eel populations.and to promote the management of rivers and regulatory infrastructures that take into account their role in the life cycle of the European eel.”
Currently, most countries continue to allow eel fishing in its different stages, although it has been listed as critically endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) since 2008.
Criticism of the European Commission
Both NGOs refer to the European Commission’s recommendation of ICES to close all European fisheries in all habitats and at all development stages, He applied to the Fisheries Ministers Council in December 2021 and confined himself to reinforcing the three-month fishing ban.. Since then, the Commission is expected to make public its proposal for new measures to recover the European eel next fall.
Finally, Values some of the measures taken in Spain in recent years, such as a ten-year fishing moratorium in Andalusiarecently expanded; Prohibition of non-professional fishing in the Valencian Community; o reduction of fishing time and implementation of a quota for professional fishing in the Region of Murcia; as well as efforts to combat illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing.
NGOs rely on it investments in the restoration of river beds and wetlands Facilitating the restoration of river connectivity as well as more effective implementation of the ecological flow regime in many Iberian rivers will have a positive impact on some important eel basins in the coming years.
….
Environment department contact address:[email protected]