Ministry of Agriculture Sweden

Based on the Regulation EC No 1100/2007 establishing measures for the recovery of the European eel, Sweden has developed an eel management plan, which has an initial emphasis on achieving a rapid increase of escapement of adult eels to the breeding place. In parallel, long‐term measures are initiated to improve the conditions for eels e.g. by habitat improvements. The entire Sweden is considered one single eel management unit, which allows a maximum cost‐efficiency for the measures. Moreover, the Swedish plan uses data for the present situation. Calculations show that to stop the decline at least 80 % of the potential present escapement is reached where yellow eel fishery dominates and 90 % if the fishery is for silver eels. This assumes that measures of this magnitude are made in the whole distribution area of the European eel. Using this approach the operational, short term, target of the Swedish plan is that 90 % of the potential production of silver eels in Swedish waters shall survive and be allowed to migrate to the sea. In numbers this means about 2.6 million silver eels. The implementation will be in an adaptive process in line with the regulation, where the measures will be adjusted as data become available to calculate the 40 % overall target of pristine escapement in the EU regulation.