Low Eel Numbers Worry Scientists and Fishermen

There is concern in the European fishing community as millions of young eels who normally migrate through Bermuda waters making their way to Europe have failed to appear.

The BBC saying “something has gone terribly wrong” and going on to say that marine scientists are baffled and fishermen are worried.

The first sign of eel number reduction started as far back as 1983, when the numbers of young eels [elvers] returning from the Sargasso Sea near Bermuda suddenly declined. Scientists consider this to be as much of a mystery, as the eels multi-year migration from the North American waters to European.

Scientists cannot determine the exact location where eels spawn, but the smallest larvae are found in the Sargasso Sea just south of Bermuda, suggesting that spawning occurs nearby. Eels have been caught in Bermuda, at times by accident.

Eels, which can grow to over 10 feet long, are a delicacy often used in Asian cooking.

Environment Minister Glenn Blakeney recently mentioned the Sargasso Sea, saying “Bermuda is the only land mass in the Sargasso Sea and as such we are in a unique position to spearhead this initiative to protect the sea as a marine protected area.”

In the 2010/11 Budget, the budget of the Ministry of the Environment and Sports has been reduced by a million dollars.

Moray Eel shown in an Australian reef.

#Animal #BermudaMarine #Fishing #SargassoSea

Category: All, Environment