Developing guidelines for best practice in stocking eel for enhancement purposes

Abstract

The European eel (Anguilla anguilla) population has declined to levels that are now considered to be unsustainable unless strong conservation measures are introduced. The European Union (EU) has proposed stocking as one possible management measure to enhance the production of adult (silver) eels, and hence contribute to compliance with a river basin's management target (? 40% of the silver eel biomas s that would have escaped to the sea in the absence of anthropogenic influences). However, stocking with young eels is expensive, and the benefits will not be realised in terms of silver eel escapement for at least 5-10 years, so it is imperative that we adopt the most effective approach (‘best practice’)