Netherlands: Scientists are working on the possibility of producing European eel in aquaculture

A group of researchers from one of the Dutch companies is developing technologies and protocols for the production of glass eels in aquaculture. This should reduce the pressure on the population of wild eels, the State Fisheries Agency reported. The European eel has a very complex and long life cycle, which is why its cultivation in a closed cycle is currently impossible. Aquaculture eel production is still entirely dependent on wild-caught juveniles (glass eel) caught in the wild. Over the past 50 years, the European eel population has declined by 90% due to habitat loss, water pollution, closure of migration routes, poaching and disease. The International Union for Conservation of Nature has included this fish in the list of critically endangered species. At the research center, adult eels are reared using artificial reproduction protocols to stimulate the maturation of the gonads of the brood stock. The eggs are incubated for 48 hours, ...