22. Dekker presented a quantitative assessment method for yellow eel fisheries using length-class cohort analyses. Problems of applying various standard fishery methods to eels were discussed. Analysis of the IJsselmeer fisheries for the last 5 years showed distinct (but not significantly different) peaks in size, with a decrease in total catch and slight increase in mean body size. It appears that management methods introduced in 1989 had had very little effect on fishing pressure. A relatively very high fishing mortality was indicated, coupled with the effects of reduced recruitment since the 1980s.
23. McCarthy presented information on the development of the yellow eel fishery as part of the on-going development of the Shannon eel fishery by the Irish Electricity Supply Board. The results from 8 crews of fishermen using fyke nets showed that the CPUE was affected significantly by the number of nights for which the nets were set. Catches also varied between the two lakes sampled and also in relation to depth and type of substrate. Length frequencies varied between samples taken by electrofishing, fyke netting and long lining techniques.
24. Details of the eel fishery in Lake Vortsjarv (270 km2, mean depth 2.8m) in Estonia were given by Kangur. The natural productivity of eel in the lake was 0.07 kg/ha before World War II. The summer catch in 1992 was about 30 tonnes with the legal size of the eels caught being 60 cm (age 6–7 years). This represents a yield of 1.1 kg/ha.
25. The eel fishery and catches in the Mecklenburg-Vorpommern area of the Baltic Sea, Germany, was reviewed by Hahlbeck. Yields have fallen from 998 t in 1955 to 39 t in 1989, with a slight increase since, mirroring the situation elsewhere in the Baltic and Europe. Restocking has been carried out in the past but this is limited by the high costs involved.
26. Stomach contents of yellow eels caught using fyke nets and electrofishing in the littoral zone were examined by Clarke. Foraging activity was suggested to be nocturnal. The diets of eels caught in the littoral zone were very uniform with Asellus being the predominant prey item. The eels taken in fyke nets were larger and had a more diverse diet, including both fish and a wide variety of invertebrate taxa.
27. The Shannon eel fishery was described by O'Brien. Yield had stabilised in recent years at about 50 tonnes, 99% being exported. The size distribution of the catch had shifted, 20.3% of the catch consisting of smaller eels in 1992 as opposed to 0.2% in 1972. Concern was expressed at the price of the eel falling out of line from the Irish Consumer Price Index, resulting in real prices falling. The relevance of the economic situation of the eel fishery to the biologist was also stressed.
28. A verbal presentation by Legault announced the setting up of a national network in France, based on regional groups to determine the long-term evolution of fish communities and their management. Other Working Party members reported on other initiatives: Belgium, fisheries concerns are mainly driven by water quality/purification concerns; Germany, the progress of studies on eels fisheries has been collated regarding eel fisheries and stocking; Ireland, the main agency concerned with eels has been the Electricity Supply Board, acting as a private commercial fishery owner; England/Wales, the National Rivers Authority has a duty towards migratory fisheries; eels are also of concern incidental to legal pressures (e.g. EC Freshwater Fisheries and pollution-related Directives, derivation of Statutory Water Quality Objectives and pressures to carry out environmental impacts of schemes such as estuary barrages). The Meeting expressed the view that more could be done at national and international levels to ensure comparability and continuity of fisheries work, especially on eels.
