DENMARK
Scientists in Denmark come closer to breeding European eel in captivity
Steady progress towards understanding the eel An ongoing project to further knowledge about the European eel and to close the breeding cycle brings together researchers from DTU Aqua and companies interested in farming eels. The work in the project builds on the results from two others also coordinated by DTU Aqua. SigniďŹ cant progress has been made, but commercial production is probably still a decade away.
T
he European eel (Anguilla anguilla) is in such dire straits that it is included in CITES’ Appendix II, a list of species not necessarily threatened with extinction, but in which trade must be controlled in order to avoid utilization incompat-
ible with their survival. Under EU legislation it is an Appendix B species, trade in which is permitted but under even stricter conditions than those in Appendix II. Following scientific advice from the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea
(ICES) that warned that the stock of the European eel was outside safe biological limits and that urgently recommended the development of a recovery plan for the entire European eel stock, the EU enacted legislation in 2007 that required Member
States to develop and implement eel management plans.
Research into eel has a long history DTU Aqua, the National Institute of Aquatic Resources, is an
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10/07/20 3:07 PM