Call for ban on eel fishing challenges UK and EU to step up on extinction crisis

Call for ban on eel fishing challenges UK and EU to step up on extinction crisis

By Tracy Keeling

Source: thecanary

12/1/2022

An intergovernmental scientific organisation has advised that fisheries catch no European eel in 2023. The snake-like fish is critically endangered, with estimates suggesting the juvenile population has crashed by between 95% and 99% since 1980. So, the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES) is adamant: no fishing, at any stage in its life, anywhere that it’s found.

Many European countries currently fish the species, including the UK. No doubt, representatives from these same countries will be found talking about the importance of biodiversity in Montreal, Canada, soon. The UN biodiversity conference is taking place there 7-19 December.