At the recent EFARO webinar, dedicated to the future of the European eel and the effectiveness of Eel Management Plans, Andrew Kerr, Chair of the Sustainable Eel Group, delivered a compelling address that underscored both the progress made and the urgent need for renewed action.

Reflecting on the long arc of eel conservation, Kerr painted a picture of both transformation and unfinished work. ‘Better Eel Management’, he said, ‘is not just about survival: it’s about full recovery’. With the SEG Standard now widely adopted, Kerr highlighted that more than 125 million eels were certified for farming and restocking in 2023 and 2024. This marks a profound shift in sector responsibility and traceability – what he described as ‘reinventing a whole sector’ and placing it firmly in a stewardship role.

Kerr noted the substantial reduction in fishing mortality, from 42% in 2007 to less than 8% in some certified areas such as the Vilaine in Brittany. This, alongside more effective eel husbandry and a dramatic decline in illegal trafficking – from 350 million to around 30 million glass eels – has resulted in hundreds of millions of eels being saved each year. These successes are not abstract. They are measurable, traceable, and directly related to the SEG Standard, with its third-party audits and intelligence-led counter-trafficking framework.

Yet Kerr’s message was far from one of complacency. In what he described as the ‘EFARO exam questions’, he called attention to the limitations of the existing Eel Regulation and EMPs. While affirming the regulation’s primacy and its 40% silver eel escapement target, he warned that implementation has been inconsistent, underfunded, and inadequately enforced. There is too little feedback to improve critical protection gaps, and non-fisheries mortalities remain dangerously under-addressed.

Kerr issued a call to action, declaring that it was time to address all causes of eel mortality, not just those in fisheries. He advocated for the creation of a dedicated European Eel Advisory Council (EEAC), a multi-stakeholder forum to ensure the eel’s protection is consistent with both the EU Green Deal and the 2030 Biodiversity Strategy. ‘For eel recovery, we must think in half centuries’, Kerr said. In a nod to his military background, he continued, ‘strategy without tactics is the slowest route to victory; tactics without strategy is the noise before defeat’.

His intervention was complemented by presentations from other key stakeholders, including Niki Sporrong of the Fisheries Secretariat, who reiterated the complexity of the eel issue. Sporrong critiqued the flexibility of the regulation, arguing that it has led to highly variable implementation across Member States, a claim for the most part aligned with SEG’s own recommendations, which suggest significant reforms to enforcement practices. The most recent evaluation of EMPs, released in 2025, found no significant increase in eel escapement and revealed high fishing mortality in nearly a quarter of Eel Management Units. FishSec issued nine clear recommendations off the back of this, including enhanced habitat restoration, improved integration with the Water Framework Directive, and stronger controls to limit illegal trade. The message was unambiguous: the regulation must be aligned with scientific advice, and urgently so.

Together, these voices at EFARO underscored a central truth: the tools for eel recovery exist, but political will, coherent implementation, and strengthened governance are essential. As Kerr closed his remarks, he emphasised the importance of SEG’s role as a leadership alliance. With science at the core, sustainability in focus, and collaboration as the method, SEG remains committed to building a responsible and sustainable eel sector, for the benefit of all.

Further reading

View Andrew’s presentation

View Niki’s presentation