Sustainability of American Eels
An ongoing challenge will be to ensure that the wild eel stock remains viable and that the Canadian glass eel fishery operates in a sustainable manner through collaboration with scientists, industry and regulators in Canada and internationally throughout the range of the American eel.
Brunswick Aquaculture are members of, and serve on the board of directors of, the following industry organizations created to advocate for and support a sustainable eel fishery in Atlantic Canada:
CEAAI - Canadian Eel Aquaculture Association Inc (2015 -) [www.ceaai.org]
CCSEF - Canadian Committee for a Sustainable Eel Fishery Inc. (2012 - )
The President is also a Life Member of the Conservation Council of New Brunswick (1977 - )
IN 2006, based largely on the decines in abundance observed in Lake Ontario and the Upper St. Lawerence River, the American Eel was recommended by the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC), to be listed as Species of Special Concern under the Species at Risk Act (SARA).
In 2012 a follow up report was released by COSEWIC, and they recommended that the American Eel now be listed as Threatened under SARA, again based on largely on the decines in abundance observed in the same areas as in 2006.
The 2006 and 2012 COSEWIC reports can be found below.
COSEWIC Assessment and Status Report
on the
American Eel (Anguilla rostrata)
in Canada 2006- PDF
2012- PDF
The Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) has recently completed a Recovery Potential Assessment for American Eels for our region driven by the findings and recommendations of the 2012 COSEWIC report. The DFO report can be found below. Â
Recovery Potential Assessment of American Eel (Anguilla rostrata) in Eastern Canada - PDF
The Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) is in the process of completing a Socio-Economic impact analysis, as part of the regulatory review of the COSEWIC 2012 report, for American Eels in Canada. Results will be posted once available.