Management and restoration of European eel population (Anguilla anguilla): An impossible bargain

The European eel panmicitic population has been declining at least since the 1980s throughout its distribution area. The stocks are now ten times lower than they were initially. The causes of this decline are reviewed in this paper: marine causes such as Gulf Stream shifts are thought to reduce survival of leptocephali larvae during their transoceanic migration, but inland causes are also suspected, i.e. overfishing of all continental stages, obstructions to upstream and downstream migrations, habitat loss, water quality, parasite and xenobiotic contamination, which together contribute to reducing quality and quantity of spawner escapement from European inland waters to sea. Restoration programs have been conducted in several inland hydrosystems in Europe. If local fisheries have been sustained mainly by stocking elvers and glass eels, no significant restoration of the population has been observed suggesting that restoration plans are inefficient, despite significant efforts and relevant technologies (fish passage). The causes for the failure of restoration projects are listed and discussed, and it is shown that the minimum scale to work at is the catchment area. But international cooperation is required to coordinate programs, to determine common objectives and policies. Concepts for sustainable restoration and management are provided and discussed together with the general interest of eel population as a biointegrator of the quality and integrity of inland hydrosystems.