January 26, 2015 — Over the past decade, eel fishermen in Maine and all along the Atlantic coast have been part of a responsibly managed fishery, adhering to stringent regulations developed across state, provincial and international lines.
Even as demand for eels has spiked in the last few years, the fishery has set a course of proactive management, with sustainable catch limits helping to secure the future of the stock.
Despite these notable management efforts, in late 2014, the environmental group International Union for the Conservation of Nature placed American eel on its “Red List” of endangered species. But a close examination of all of the available evidence — including a 2007 report by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, which the agency has called “the most comprehensive analysis of the American eel’s range wide status ever undertaken” — reveals that the IUCN designation is misplaced, at best.
Some researchers predicted a species-wide collapse following a steep decline in the number of Great Lakes eels beginning in the 1980s. But after decades of observation, this prediction has not borne out for the rest of the population. Instead, populations have remained resilient. This was noted by the Fish and Wildlife Service in its report, which stated that “the species currently appears stable.”
The key measurement here is the recruitment — the number of new eels that are born and enter the eel population — of younger glass eels. It’s one of the best indicators of the health of the eel stock and was recognized by the Fish and Wildlife Service’s report as the measurement that “best represents the species status range-wide.”
Read the full opinion piece from The Bangor Daily News