STUDIES AND PILOT PROJECTS FOR CARRYING OUT THE COMMON FISHERIES POLICYLOT 2: Pilot projects to estimate potential and actual escapement of silver eel

• Main Authors: Walker, Alan, Andonegi, Eider, Apolostaki, P., Aprahamian, Miran, Bevacqua, Daniele, Briand, Cédric, Cannas, Antonello, de Eyto, Elvira, Dekker, Willem, de Leo, Giulio Alessandro, Diaz, Estibaliz, Döring, Ralf, Fladung, E, Jouanin, Céline, Lambert, Patrick, Poole, Russell, Oeberst, R., Schiavina, Marcello
• Other Authors: Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science Lowestoft (CEFAS), AZTI - Tecnalia, Environment Agency Wales (UNITED KINGDOM), Università degli studi di Parma = University of Parma (UNIPR), Institution d'aménagement de la Vilaine, Institution d'aménagement de la Vilaine (IAV), C.R.R.eA. soc coop a.r.l., Via Mameli 115, 09123 Cagliari, Marine Institute Ireland, IMARES, Institute for Marine Resources and Ecosystem Studies, Institute of Inland Fisheries Potsdam-Sacrow, Centre national du machinisme agricole, du génie rural, des eaux et forêts (CEMAGREF), Marine Institute, Newport, Co. Mayo, Institute of Baltic Sea Fisheries, Alter Hafen Süd 2, 18069 Rostock, Germany, Dipartimento di Elettronica e Informazione Politecnico di Milano, via Ponzio 34/5, Milano, I-20133 Italy, European Union, European Union (UE), European Project:
• Format: Report
• Language: English
• Published: HAL CCSD 2011
• Subjects: Eel anguilla-anguilla; model; [SDE]Environmental Sciences; [SDV.EE]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Ecology; environment; Anguilla anguilla
• Online Access: https://hal.science/hal-04270649; https://hal.science/hal-04270649/document; https://hal.science/hal-04270649/file/POSE%20Executive%20Summary.pdf

The European eel is widely distributed throughout over 90,000 km2 of inland, estuarine and coastal waters in Europe and parts of northern Africa (Moriarty & Dekker, 1997). Estimates at the glass eel stage indicate that recruitment across Europe fell in the 1980s to about 10% of former levels, and further to 1-5% since 2000 (ICES, 2008). ICES therefore advised that the stock is outside safe biological limits and that current fisheries are not sustainable (ICES, 1999). The status of the stock has not changed and remains critical (ICES, 2010).The European Commission has initiated an Eel Recovery Plan (Council Regulation No 1100/2007, hereafter the Regulation) to protect and restore the European eel stock to sustainable levels of adult abundance and glass eel recruitment. The essentially local nature of eel stocks means that responsibility for the attainment of this objective largely resides with national governments, with individual river basins as the primary management units. Each Member State is required to establish national Eel Management Plans (EMPs). The objective of these plans is to permit with high probability the escapement to the sea of at least 40% of the biomass of silver eel relative to the best estimate of escapement that would have existed if no anthropogenic influences had impacted the stock.The assessment of local stocks and impacts of anthropogenic factors is a complex issue for eel, given the considerable diversity in environment, biological, fishery-related factors, large spatial coverage, and differences among the monitoring schemes and available data found throughout Europe. The ultimate aim of this project, therefore, is to provide EU eel scientists and managers with a comprehensive knowledge of the techniques most suitable for the assessment of their local eel stocks, and thereby to support the conservation and management of eel through the Eel Management Plan process.There are a variety of approaches available to assess silver eel production and escapement, which can be categorised ...