EU Eel Regulation

In implementation of the European Eel Regulation (EC/1100/2007), an eel management plan for Belgium was drawn up. The ordinance requires Member States to report periodically on progress and implementation. The first reports were submitted to Europe in 2012 and 2015 (based on data from INBO's Freshwater Fish Monitoring Network). The next report is scheduled for 2018.
The report itself is drawn up by the Agency for Nature and Forest (ANB). To this purpose, figures are used with respect to the baseline condition, current production, current mortality and current eel escapement. Through the Freshwater Fish Monitoring Network, INBO collects the necessary data from which the figures that are necessary for the reporting of the EU Eel Ordinance are calculated.
In 2013, INBO reoriented its Freshwater Fish Monitoring Network to a new one for the purpose of the Water Framework Directive. As part of this reorientation, INBO carried out an evaluation of the methodology for the purpose of the Eel Ordinance reporting (Stevens et al., 2013) at the request of ANB. This report shows that the revised Freshwater Fish Monitoring Network is suitable to provide the figures required for EU reporting on the spread of eel in Flanders. A number of model parameters need to be adapted in order to carry out the necessary calculations on the basis of the refocused Freshwater Fish Monitoring network.