New policy brief: taking stock of the EU eel regulation
Published on:
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Biodiversity - Swimways
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Freshwaters
As the 20th anniversary of the EU Eel Regulation approaches, it provides an opportunity to assess its implementation and effectiveness. The European eel (Anguilla anguilla) remains critically endangered, with recruitment having declined by over 90% since the 1980s. Despite having its own Regulation dedicated to its recovery, the European eel population remains in a critical state.
This highlights the need to move beyond reliance on measures whose contribution to recovery is not sufficiently demonstrated, such as restocking, and strengthen the implementation and enforcement of existing legislation, while we accelerate evidence-based actions to restore aquatic habitats and river connectivity.
