As a desperate measure to protect the much threatened European eel, the Swedish Society for Nature Conservation (SSNC) is now fund raising in order to buy up eel certificates from eel fishermen.
– The first priority area is the south coast of Sweden as the eels passing by there are the most valuable eels, on their way back to Sargasso to reproduce, says Ellen Bruno, Marine Policy Officer at SSNC.
People wanting to help the eel are asked to donate 100, 200 or 500 SEK in order to buy freedom for 1, 2 or 5 eels respectively. The fund will also help finance the SSNC’s policy work to address the problems preventing the migration of eels in inland waters, as well as work to tackle overfishing in general.
The number of eels has been drastically reduced in the last 50 years and reproduction is now less then 1% of the levels estimated in the 1970s. The decline is not caused solely by overfishing of glass eel (fry), yellow eels (adults) and silver eels (migratory state), but also by habitat destruction in inland waters and obstruction of migration routes.
– For the European eel to stand a chance, measures need to be taken to combat all these threats. Eel fisheries should be closed not only in Sweden but all across the EU. Water quality and migration routes also urgently need to be safeguarded, in alignment the Water Framework Directive, says Ellen Bruno at SSNC.
For more information about the fund raising campaign and for donations, visit the SSNC website (below).