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The Eel Regulation and Eel Management Plans. Jean-Claude CUEFF European Commission Directorate General for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Unit A2: Common Fisheries Policy and Aquaculture Seminar: RESTAURER LA CONTINUIT É É COLOGIQUE : UN AXE PHARE DU PLAN NATIONAL DE GESTION DE L’ANGUILLE
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The Eel Regulation and Eel Management Plans Jean-Claude CUEFF European Commission Directorate General for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Unit A2: Common Fisheries Policy and Aquaculture Seminar: RESTAURER LA CONTINUITÉ ÉCOLOGIQUE : UN AXE PHARE DU PLAN NATIONAL DE GESTION DE L’ANGUILLE 26 janvier 2010
OUTLINE • Part I: Timeline of events • Part II: Content of Eel Management Plans • Part III: Evaluation of Eel Management Plans • Part IV: Glass Eel and CITES • Part V: State of Play Eel Management Plans
Part I: TIMELINE • 18 September 2007: Adoption of Regulation (EC) No 1100/2007 establishing measures for the recovery of the stock of European eel • 31 December 2008: Deadline for submission of EMP’s Eel Management Plans
TIMELINE • MS must report to the COM every 3 years (then every 6) on: • The % of biomass of silver eel escaping to the sea • The level of fishing effort and reductions thereof • The mortality caused by non-fisheries factors and the reductions thereof • The amount of glass eel caught and the % of these used for different purposes (export, consumption, aquaculture, restocking etc.) • By 31 December 2013 the COM will report to EP and Council on the outcome of the implementation of EMP’s, up to that date. • Based on the outcome of this report, the Commission may propose additional measures to ensure stock recovery. Eel Management Plans
Part II: Content of the EMP’s • Each MS is required to submit an EMP for each eel river basin (or one covering its entire territory). • We’ve received 70 plans from 19 MS - more than 5,000 pages. • Member States were required to refer to the River Basin Districts established under the Water Framework Directive in order to draft their plans. Eel Management Plans
Content of the EMP’s • Goal of EMP: 40% of silver eel biomass must be allowed to escape to the sea (or downstream) – Difficult to calculate for most Member States due to lack of data. • Long-term objective – at least 2-3 eel generations. MS must give a timescale for reaching the 40% target. Eel Management Plans
Content of the EMP’s • Many EMP’s contain measures such as: - fishing effort reduction (commercial and recreational): limitations in seasons, gears, minimum landing sizes. - restocking measures - assistance in obstacle passage e.g. trap and transport schemes. • MS sharing a river basin should jointly prepare plans (also with 3rd countries) • EMP’s will be subject to modification / improvement in view of new scientific info/data and changes in stock status. Eel Management Plans
Part III: Evaluation of EMP’s • Step 1: DG MARE has carried out an Admissibility Check of EMP’s for conformity with Regulation 1100/2007. • Step 2: ICES (with support from EIFAC WG Eel) is carrying out the technical evaluation of the EMP’s: - Will 40% escapement be achieved? - How effective are the proposed measures? - Effectiveness of restocking? etc. • Step 3: The Commission approves/rejects plans, taking ICES advice into consideration • If the Commission takes a Decision to reject a plan, the Member State has 3 months to submit a revised one, otherwise a 50% reduction in fishing effort or catch must be implemented. Eel Management Plans
Part IV: Glass Eel and CITES • According to the Regulation, 60% of glass eel (<12cm long) are to be used in restocking, for the purpose of increasing escapement of silver eel to the sea. (Start at 35%, reach 60% by 2013) • Evolution of market is uncertain, but safety net exists: if prices paid by restockers are too low, the % reserved for restocking may be lowered. Eel Management Plans
Glass Eel and CITES • Eel is listed on CITES Appendix II. This listing came into force on 13 March 2009. • The Scientific Review Group for CITES debated for about 2 years before taking a decision regarding eel. • An export quota on glass eel was established. This will decrease every year. Eel Management Plans
Glass Eel and CITES • Any Member State wishing to export glass eel can only do so once its EMP has been approved. • Only France and Spain have declared their intention to export eel from the EU. • Third country wishing to export eel to the EU must also demonstrate that such export does not harm the stock. Eel Management Plans
Part V: State of Play • To date, the EMP’s of the following Member States have been approved: BE, CZ, DK, EE, IE, LT, LU, LV, NL, PL and SE. • FI will be presented for an approval vote on the 28th of January 2010. • DE, EL, ES, FR, IT, PT and UK are still under examination. • [BG and SI have submitted requests for exemption after the deadline and these requests will probably be refused] Eel Management Plans