Ban on commercial eel fishing in Ireland

Thanks to WSF

THE REAL EEL DEAL
The Irish Government has submitted a plan to the EU Fisheries Commission proposing a ban on commercial eel fishing in Ireland. Rightly so! The Irish are all so often the first to do something positive when action needs to be taken!

The reason for the proposal is that the Irish eel population is at an all time low and are feared to be now outside safe biological limits. The concern is if something isn’t done, and quickly, then eels may become extinct in the long term.

The Irish proposals include an immediate stopping of all commercial eel fishing and the closure of the market, improvement of water quality, and safe passage in all rivers for migrating eels. They also propose to maintain a three-year cyclical evaluation of the eel populace until 2018 to fully monitor their progress, and every six years after that.

This severe reduction in eel numbers is evident here in the UK too. Sea anglers fishing estuaries throughout the country were once plagued with eels at certain times of year, but now it’s a rarity to catch one in many areas. This is partly due to over fishing by commercials with the elver fishery in The Severn Estuary a prime example where juvenile eels are caught, but also to poor water quality in many rivers in the past and the lack of easy passage for migrating eels due to man manipulating the river systems.

Although a very few anglers in the Southeast partial to jellied eels and mash for tea do take the odd eel, generally eels are not a species UK sea anglers deliberately target, and as mentioned even catch very often nowadays, so for once we can’t be blamed. That said, any sea anglers catching eels, it’s worth making absolutely sure they are handled correctly and returned alive to the water immediately.

Any anglers thinking “so what if the eels disappear” need to think again! Eels are an essential part of the eco-system and taking just one species out of the game can have serious repercussions for other species within that habitat. Each has its part to play which is why Mother Nature put them there!

There is some suggestion that UK anglers may be approached to contribute to a survey on eels in estuaries in the future, and WSF will keep you informed for those of you that would be interested in helping record any eel catches for scientific purposes as more information becomes available.
Irish Eels

very over due eels ant any where near where they used to be in our rivers.

European eel population down by 75%

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/food_and_drink/article3042597.ece

Worth a read