JOINT STATEMENT TO PROTECT THE EUROPEAN EEL 

GFCM Expert Group on the European eel in the Mediterranean, Rome, Italy (4-5th June 2024)

The collaboration between MedReAct and FishSec continues as the two institutions developed a joint statement shared at the recent EGEMed 2024 meeting. The objective of the EGEMed 2024 was to discuss the results of the GFCM 2023-2024 Roadmap, comprised of socio-economic and habitat analyses on eel fisheries across the Mediterranean, and to formulate a set of measures to be considered in the upcoming twenty-fifth session of the Scientific Advisory Committee (SAC), taking place at the end of June 2024.

Based on the advice from the GFCM SAC and the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES), MedReAct and FishSec have proposed the following measures to be adopted in the long-term management of this unique species:

• Restore and maintain key eel habitats in the Mediterranean, such as coastal lagoons, including efforts to improve water quality, to maximize health and reproductive capacity of eels by 2029. 
• Establish a network of spatial measures, including FRAs, to protect both eels and key eel habitats by 2029. 
• Implement a full ban on glass eel fishing to protect recruitment (SAC, 2022; GFCM eel research programme, 2022). Exceptions could be made for translocation of glass eels within the same water body (ICES advice, 2023), if carefully monitored. 
• Maintain the six-month eel fishing closures in all waters to protect eel migration, in particular the spawning migration of silver eels on their way to the Sargasso Sea, and ensure that implementation of the closures is aligned with the migration periods. 
• Retain the full ban on all recreational fishing for European eel. 
• Improve traceability of landings, together with a more effective control system, to reduce IUU fishing. 
• Gradually shift to fishery independent monitoring for all eel life stages. 
• Make improvements in CPC1 data collection, reporting and implementation of measures, including a process for data quality control. 
• Establish a public GFCM database, including information on the national implementation of eel measures, which would increase transparency and public confidence in the management measures. 
• Carry out an interim review after 3 years to assess the effectiveness of the long-term measures. 

Given the critical state of the European eel in the Mediterranean, with current recruitment levels of less than 9% and escapement levels of 9-11% relative to pristine conditions, and considering the lack of improvement of eel stocks despite the binding measures put in place, a full moratorium of eel fishing for all life stages should be considered if there is no measurable recovery in the next three years, until a clear improvement has been confirmed.

Read the full statement below