On Monday 8 January, the General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean (GFCM) of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) recommended a coordinated management plan to save the European eel population in the Mediterranean.
The GFCM carried out a comprehensive research programme in nine Mediterranean countries between 2020 and 2022. The results of this work, published in a report (https://aeur.eu/f/aap ), provide an overview of eel fisheries, habitats and the biological characteristics of local stocks.
Eels face threats such as climate change, habitat loss, pollution and overfishing on their migration routes (Sargasso Sea, Mediterranean, Northern Europe). In 2020, the migration of young eels to freshwater habitats, a crucial stage in their life cycle, reached an all-time low.
The report identifies lagoons as a crucial habitat for Mediterranean eels. Habitat loss, poor water quality and pollution were also observed in the species’ other habitats (rivers and estuaries).
Despite the many fisheries management measures in place, some of them, such as closure periods and bans on fishing of certain stages, were poorly harmonised and often insufficiently aligned to local conditions, according to the report. Fisher’s catches have fallen sharply, the GFCM points out (see EUROPE 13312/6). (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)