7th of May 2020 – Extra help is on the way for the European eel. Recently, an agreement has been made on an international plan of actions for the eel between members of the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species (CMS).
This is good news for the European eel. More than hundred countries have signed this convention, also known as the Bonn Convention, including the European Union. In total, coördinated actions were taken during the recent Conference of the Parties (COP13) for fourteen individual species. Amongst those species were also sharks and whales.
European countries in which the European eel occurs, so-called range states, will be writing the plan. The CMS secretariat, part of the United Nations, will play a supportive role. Countries that are close to the Sargasso sea, the sea where the European eel reproduces, will also take part in the plan.
The European eel is already protected under the CITES-convention, which states that extinction due to international trade must be prevented. The EU Eel Regulation and the EU Water Framework Directive (responsible for the ecological quality of European inland waters) also aim at protecting this fish species. Good Fish Foundation will stay on top of the process for the development of this Action Plan for the eel.
For more information, read the article about the Convention on the Conversation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals meeting and the article about the international rescue plan for the eel.