Modelling the recruitment of European eel (Anguilla anguilla) throughout its European range

• Published in: ICES Journal of Marine Science
• Main Authors: Bornarel, V., Lambert, Patrick, Briand, Cédric, Antunes, C., Belpaire, C., Ciccotti, E., Diaz, E., Diserud, O., Doherty, D., Domingos, I., Evans, D., De Graaf, M., O Leary, C., Pedersen, M., Poole, R., Walker, A., Wickström, H., Beaulaton, Laurent, Drouineau, Hilaire
• Other Authors: Ecosystèmes aquatiques et changements globaux (UR EABX), Institut national de recherche en sciences et technologies pour l'environnement et l'agriculture (IRSTEA), Institution d'aménagement de la Vilaine (IAV), CIIMAR MATOSINHOS PRT, Partenaires IRSTEA, Institut national de recherche en sciences et technologies pour l'environnement et l'agriculture (IRSTEA)-Institut national de recherche en sciences et technologies pour l'environnement et l'agriculture (IRSTEA), INBO LINKEBEEK BEL, UNIVERSITA DI ROMA TOR VERGATA ROME ITA, AZTI TECNALIA BIZKAIA ESP, NINA TRONDHEIM NOR, ESB VIA LIMERICK IRL, UNIVERSIDADE DE LISBOA LISBON PRT, AGRI FOOD AND BIOSCIENCES INSTITUTE BELFAST GBR, Wageningen University and Research Wageningen (WUR), INLAND FISHERIES IRELAND DUBLIN IRL, NATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR AQUATIC RESOURCES SILKEBORG DNK, MARINE INSTITUTE NEWPORT IRL, CEFAS LABORATORY SUFFOLK GBR, INSTITUTE OF FRESHWATER RESEARCH DROTTNINGHOLM SWE, Agence Française pour la Biodiversité (AFB), Pôle Gest'Aqua, Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-Office national de l'eau et des milieux aquatiques (ONEMA), Ministère de l'écologie, du développement durable et de l'énergie-Ministère de l'écologie, du développement durable et de l'énergie
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: HAL CCSD 2018
• Subjects: EUROPE; [SDE]Environmental Sciences; Anguilla anguilla
• Online Access: https://hal.inrae.fr/hal-02607015; https://doi.org/10.1093/icesjms/fsx180

International audience European eel (Anguilla anguilla) recruitment has been declining at least since the early 1980s at the scale of its distribution area. Since the population is panmictic, its stock assessment should be carried out on a range-wide basis. However, assessing the overall stock during the continental phase remains difficult given its widespread distribution among heterogeneous and separate river catchments. Hence, it is currently considered by the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES) more feasible to use glass eel recruitment data to assess the status of the overall population. In this study, we used Glass Eel Recruitment Estimation Model (GEREM) to estimate annual recruitment (i) at the river catchment level, a scale for which data are available, (ii) at an intermediate scale (6 European regions), and (iii) at a larger scale (Europe). This study provides an estimate of the glass eel recruitment trend through a single index, which gathers all recruitment time-series available at the European scale. Results confirmed an overall recruitment decline to dramatically low levels in 2009 (3.5% of the 1960-1979 recruitment average) and highlighted a more pronounced decline in the North Sea area compared to elsewhere in Europe.