The eel, a coveted fish resource to the detriment of recreational fishing
- Lancelot Chevalier
- il y a 5 jours
- 4 min de lecture
Since the early 1980s , eel stocks have been in freefall throughout Europe . The glass eel recruitment index has decreased tenfold, to the point that some scientists are questioning whether the situation is reversible. The French government is currently holding a public consultation (from October 3 to 27, 2025) on a draft decree aimed at banning recreational fishing for yellow eels in freshwater from January 1, 2026 , for a period of five years.
A great traveler throughout her life
Present for over 35 million years, this "umbrella" species fascinates as much as it puzzles. Eel reproduction remained a mystery until the 1920s, when Johannes Schmidt demonstrated the link between leptocephalus larvae in the Sargasso Sea and eels living on the mainland. The eel's life cycle is exceptional: approximately 5 years for males, and over 20 years for some females. Many questions remain unanswered, particularly regarding its marine phases.
For a long time, elver larvae were thought to be a different species. Transparent and measuring nearly 5 cm, they have a laterally flattened body shaped like a willow leaf. This morphology allows them to take advantage of ocean currents, particularly the Gulf Stream, where they feed on plankton during their journey to Europe. The larva then metamorphoses to take on the characteristic shape of the eel, while remaining transparent: this is the glass eel. From April to November, it continues its migration in freshwater (the upstream migration) and gradually develops pigmentation to become the yellow eel.
This is the best-known stage. During this phase—the longest of the cycle, between 3 and 18 years—the eel becomes sedentary, adopts a predatory diet, and accumulates energy reserves . Sexual maturity triggers a final metamorphosis: the eel turns silver. Its belly takes on a pearly white hue, its flanks become silvery, its head becomes more slender, and its eyes enlarge to adapt to the darkness of the depths. It then begins its reproductive migration, carried by the autumn floods to reach the sea. The journey to the Sargasso Sea covers nearly 6,000 km, after which the eel reproduces and gives birth to the next generation.
98% of the population disappeared
The causes of this decline are multiple: overfishing, dams obstructing migration, habitat destruction, pesticide pollution, introduction of pathogens (such as the parasite Anguillicola crassus ), modification of the Gulf Stream, etc. All these mortalities occur before reproduction, drastically reducing the number of breeding adults.
Faced with this collapse, the European Union adopted Regulation (EU) No 1100/2007 of 18 September 2007 establishing measures for the recovery of European eel stocks. Further restrictions were incorporated into the annual regulations derived from the Common Fisheries Policy (EU No 1380/2013). In France, recreational fishing for glass eels and silver eels has been prohibited—in both freshwater and seawater—since Decree No 2010-1110 of 22 September 2010.
Regulations (EU) 2023/194 of 30 January 2023 and (EU) 2024/259 of 10 January 2024 subsequently prohibited recreational fishing for yellow eel at sea and in the freshwater basins of the Mediterranean. Throughout France, except in the Rhône-Mediterranean and Corsican basins, recreational fishing for yellow eel therefore remained permitted in freshwater. The Ministry for Ecological Transition has opened three draft texts for public consultation until 27 October 2025, including a moratorium on recreational fishing for yellow eel in freshwater from 1 January 2026.
A coveted resource: The eel is of interest to both professional fishermen — in freshwater as well as in the sea — and recreational fishermen. For many years, the FNPF and the departmental federations have been campaigning for a five-year moratorium prohibiting all eel fishing, amateur as well as professional, in order to protect the species.
However, while the first text currently under consultation concerns only recreational fishing, the other two draft decrees concern professional fishing. The first sets the quotas for professional sea fishing for the 2025-2026 and 2026-2027 seasons, as well as their allocation. The second sets the quotas for glass eels in freshwater for professional fishermen.
For the 2025-2026 season, the project includes:
· 22 tonnes intended for consumption,
· 33 tonnes intended for restocking, i.e. 55 tonnes in total, down 15.38% compared to the previous season.
The breakdown is as follows: 87% for sea fishermen, 13% for freshwater fishermen. These figures have angered the FNPF (National Federation of French Fishermen), which denounces the sacrifice of recreational fishing "to pretend to save the eel." It specifically disputes the ministerial estimate of 700 tons of yellow eels harvested annually by recreational fishermen and criticizes quotas deemed "excessively high" for professional fishing.
To address the "alarming" situation in which the species finds itself, the federation requests:
• a moratorium on all fishing and at all life stages of the eel,
• an ambitious fleet reduction plan for professional fishermen,
• strengthening the fight against poaching,
• the ecological restoration of waterways.
Draft decree imposing a moratorium on recreational freshwater fishing for European eel: https://www.consultations-publiques.developpement-durable.gouv.fr/projet-de-decret-portant-moratoire-sur-la-peche-de-a3258.html
The draft moratorium on eel fishing concerning recreational fishermen can be downloaded below:
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