Written answers

Thursday, 30 January 2014

Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources

Fisheries Protection

Photo of Michael ColreavyMichael Colreavy (Sligo-North Leitrim, Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

19. To ask the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources if there will be a restocking of eels in rivers and lakes here; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4297/14]

Photo of Pat RabbittePat Rabbitte (Dublin South West, Labour)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

Ireland's Eel Management Plan (EMP) was accepted by the EU in 2009 under the 2007 EU Eel regulation (1100/2007). The plan outlined the following main management actions aimed at reducing eel mortality and increasing silver eel escapement to the sea:

- a cessation of the commercial eel fishery and closure of the market;

- mitigation of the impact of hydropower installations;

- ensure upstream migration of juvenile eel at barriers;

- improvement of water quality.

Based on comprehensive scientific assessment of eel stocks nationally and a review of Ireland’s EMP in 2012 it was recommended that the closure of both the commercial and recreational eel fisheries be continued in line with the conservation imperative. Similar reviews were carried out across the EU as the eel stock is endangered throughout Europe.

The International Council for Exploration of the Sea (ICES) advised in 2011, that glass eel recruitment had fallen to 5% of their 1960-1979 level in the Atlantic region and precariously less than 1% in the North Sea area. The very latest ICES advice (2013) indicates that the annual recruitment of glass eel to European waters has increased marginally over the last two years to 1.5% of 1960-79 levels in the North Sea area, and to 10% in the Atlantic area. The overall ICES advice is that the indices remain at very low levels compared with historical catches. In Ireland, scientific studies also show that recruitment has been declining since the mid-1980s, for example in the 2000-2011 period, the glass eel catch in the Shannon was at 2% of the pre-1980 level.

This points to a situation where the recruitment of glass eels and elvers remains perilously low and sustainable availability of juveniles is a significant challenge. To stock home rivers with eels would mean obtaining elvers from some other European source and re-introducing these eels to rivers in Ireland. There are very considerable challenges to this:

- the potential for the transmission of disease and parasites when introducing eels from other catchments;

- any estuaries where elvers are in adequate numbers will be targeted in the first instance by the nation in whose waters the elvers are to ensure that their rivers are adequately populated;

- Elvers are extremely costly and it would be prohibitively expensive to source these elvers competing with both the host nation and any other countries for the opportunity to obtain wild elvers;

- stocking of elvers is a long term conservation measure with no short or even medium term benefit as regards fisheries. In Ireland on average it takes up to two decades for eels to reach maturity.

The current ICES advice for 2013 states ‘The efficacy of restocking for recovering the stock remains uncertain while evidence of net benefit is lacking.’

Stocking is not included as a management action in Ireland’s EMP and surplus elver recruits were not identified for the 2012-2015 period to facilitate a stocking programme. The EMP will be reviewed again in 2015 and all elements, including the potential for stocking, can be considered at that stage based on an additional three years of scientific and management advice .

Comments

No comments

Log in or join to post a public comment.