2024-04-20 07:24:05
Eels will no longer be allowed to be caught in the North and Baltic Seas in the future – at least temporarily. A closed season is intended to secure the fish population.
To protect endangered eels, fishing periods off the German sea coast will be closed from September. A comprehensive ban on fishing for eels in the North Sea will apply from September 1st to February 28th, as the Federal Ministry of Agriculture announced on Tuesday. An EU-wide fishing ban applies to the Baltic Sea from September 15th to March 15th.
Parliamentary State Secretary Claudia Müller (Greens) said that given the dramatically low inventory, it was high time to act. The closed season helps eels make the long migration to their spawning area in the Atlantic, the Sargasso Sea east of Florida. Eel fishing also secures income in many places in Germany – from fishing to tourism. “Giving the eel population a perspective also means securing the livelihoods of people on the coasts and in rural areas in the long term.”
According to EU law, recreational fishing for eels will remain completely prohibited in all marine waters and adjacent brackish waters until December 31, the ministry explained. Germany will make use of an EU option and exclude the month of August from the closed season in the North Sea. This takes into account the protection of the eel as well as the interests of fisheries and coastal countries.