JOINT EIFAAC/ICES/GFCM WORKING GROUP ON EELS (WGEEL)

The Joint EIFAAC/ICES/GFCM Working Group on Eel (WGEEL) conducts the annual stock as-sessment for European eel (Anguilla anguilla) and reports on new emerging threats and opportu-nities. WGEEL provides the scientific basis for the ICES advice on fishing opportunities and con-servation aspects for the European eel and further addresses requests from EIFAAC and GFCM. This year, 2025, WGEEL assessed the state of the European eel population and its fisheries, re-viewed the implementation of the WKFEA (Workshop on the Future of Eel Advice) roadmap, examined available recruitment data from coastal and marine habitats, reported on new scien-tific knowledge including developments in the Mediterranean region, agreed on the contents of an information sheet destined to inform stakeholders on the work of WGEEL, and provided in-formation on data needs to be included in EU regional workplans. After high levels in the late 1970s, European eel recruitment declined dramatically in the 1980s and remains low. Compared to 1960–1979, the recruitment in the “North Sea” index series was 1.3% with a confidence interval (C.I.) of [0.6-3.1%] (final) in 2024 and was 0.7% [0.4-1.1%] (provi-sional) in 2025. The “Elsewhere Europe” index was 7.2% [4.5-11.5%] (final) in 2024 and (provi-sional) 12.1% [7.4-19.5%] (provisional) in 2025. The yellow eel recruitment index was 14.3% [5.9-34.3%] in 2024. The trend of reported commercial landings shows a long-term continuing decline, from a level of around 10 000 t in the 1960s to remaining above 2 000 t (glass eel + yellow eel + silver eel) during the past decade. The commercial glass eel fishery was 57.7 t in 2024 and 56.7 t in 2025. Reported landings from yellow and silver eel commercial fisheries (Y, S, YS) totalled 2 391 t in 2023 and 1 855 t in 2024 (provisional data). Reported recreational landings for yellow and silver eel combined was 76 t in 2024 (20 countries reporting) and no countries reported so far in 2025. Other tasks carried out during the meeting consisted of defining and describing issues for the upcoming benchmark and clarifying the process of integrating the WGEEL database into the ICES Data Screening Utility (DATSU). The Mediterranean countries forming the southern limit of the eel’s range, is still significantly underrepresented in terms of data compared to the rest of the species distribution. WGEEL notes recent initiatives—such as Croatia’s national monitoring project (2023-2026), the GFCM’s MedSea4Fish (2023–2025), Lebanon’s initiation of an eel monitoring program, and WWF-Tü-rkiye’s restoration of Lake Bafa and the Büyük Menderes Delta. Hydropower remains a key source of mortality; current research focuses on effective screening and fish passage solutions. Regarding health and non-native pressures, the parasite Anguillicola crassus is established in Türkiye, Greece, and Croatia, while AngHV-1 persists in the Adriatic. However, a coordinated European eel health monitoring programme is still lacking. Illegal trade enforcement intensified through EUROPOL’s Operation LAKE VII (2022/23), seizing ~24 million glass eels. New frameworks propose safe reintroduction protocols to turn enforcement gains into conservation outcomes. Overall, progress in data collection and regional cooperation is evident, but sustaining recovery of the critically endangered European eel requires coordinated, cross-border strategies that integrate science, management, and habitat restoration.