Recovery of the stock of European eel

 The committee adopted the report by Albert Jan MAAT (EPP-ED, NL) amending - under the consultation procedure - the proposed regulation on measures for the recovery of European eel stocks. Among its recommendations, the committee sought  to replace the Commission's idea of a 15-day fishing ban each month with an alternative measure to shorten the fishing season "so that fishing effort is reduced by half." It added that, for Member States which have submitted an Eel Management Plan to the Commission for approval by the end of 2006, this provision would be suspended until the Commission had taken a definitive decision.

The report called for "special measures to ensure an increase in the number of glass eels released" to combat the threat posed by large-scale exports of glass eels. It also specified that Member States should adopt "extra measures to obstruct as little as possible the natural migration of glass eels during certain periods", and called for the EU to support "measures to aid the construction and/or adaptation of barrier-crossing mechanisms to prevent migration along rivers from being compromised". MEPs also proposed a new clause aimed at providing additional protection for glass eels, imposing certain conditions on fishing for eels less than 12 cm long.

The report further suggested that a certain percentage (to be determined by the Commission) of the eel used in aquaculture should be used for breeding to restock inland waters with yellow eel. Lastly, it called for the implementation of various provisions of the regulation to be postponed by one year, saying that various factors made the proposed calendar unfeasible.