The Environment Agency has published a position paper ‘Delivering our Duties for Eel; our Ambition for Eel in England’ dated January 2014, which is available here.

We very much welcome this paper that clarifies the Agency’s position, aims and objectives to help the European Eel population to recover.  In particular:

• We welcome that the Environment Agency has so clearly stated its aims and objectives to help the eel recover to meet the EU Eel Regulation and the target of 40% silver eel escapement.  We encourage all EU member states to make similar statements of their intent.

• We recognise and welcome that measures to help recover eel populations will be done in a risk-based and cost-effective way

• We note, recognise and welcome the contribution that eel fisheries make to conservation, communities and the economy if managed and regulated sustainably

• We support the over-arching aim to secure sustainable eel populations and fisheries.

• We support the 11 objectives to achieve this aim, in particular the targets to, by 2021,  improve access of eel to an additional 3500 hectares of habitat and past 684 barriers to migration

The Sustainable Eel Group is an active partner to agencies, trusts and conservation bodies across Europe.  We are assisting wherever possible to support objectives listed by the Environment Agency and others, eg.  setting up conservation projects to increase access to habitats, removing barriers to migration and brokering agreements to provide eels for restocking,encouraging  all those who trade in eel to do so sustainably, according to the Sustainable Eel Standard.