Technical Expert Group on Eel | TEGE

Why?

Following worrying trends in the recruitment of eels to Europe, the European Commission enacted the EC Regulation (1100/2007) to support the recovery of the European eel. This regulation required all EU member states to create an Eel Management Plan. Around the same time, the International Union on the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) listed the European eel as Critically Endangered.

While creating Ireland's Eel Management Plan, a group of experts on eels from around the country worked together to compile the list of both management and monitoring objectives for the country to achieve.

Following the acceptance of the Irish Eel Management Plan by the European Commission in 2009, Ireland moved into a monitoring and reporting phase. A scientific group called the Standing Scientific Committee on Eel (SSCE) was formed in 2010, and since 2017, this group as been called the Technical Expert Group on Eel. The group was established to provide scientific advice to guide IFI and the North-South Standing Scientific Committee for Inland Fisheries (NSSSCIF) in decision-making and policy development to ensure the recovery of Ireland’s eel stocks.

Who?

The TEGE consists of representatives from Inland Fisheries Ireland, Marine Institute, Electricity Supply Board (ESB), Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute (AFBI) and the Loughs Agency, along with invited guests when necessary.

What do they do?

The group meet regularly to create an annual report on the progress of the eel management and monitoring objectives. The reports are used to fulfil reporting obligations to the European Commission under the Eel Regulation.

One end user of the data compiled by this group is the Joint EIFAAC/ ICES/GFCM Working Group on Eel (WGEEL). This group have an annual call for data where the status of the eel at the European level is assessed. ICES issues advice annually on the state of the eel stock.

Please visit https://www.ices.dk/community/groups/Pages/WGEEL.aspx to read more about the WGEEL.