Around three million small eels will be released this year in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania – in the hope that they will grow big and later bring good profits to fishermen. The eel is an important economic fish in MV.
Schwerin (dpa/mv) – Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania’s inland fishermen are putting out around three million mini eels in 135 lakes and other bodies of water in the northeast this year. Of these, around 400,000 animals with an average weight of seven grams – so-called pre-stretched eels – and 2.6 million glass eels, which weigh an average of only 0.3 grams, said the inland fisheries association on Thursday. On the same day, thousands of small eels were put into the water in an action in Lake Schwerin.
The state supports 80 percent of the costs for the procurement of the eels. The aim is to increase the stock – so that later on you can fish properly for eels, which are considered a delicacy. However, the fishermen would have to stick to the specified upper limits for the stock if they want the support. The eel is considered one of the most important economic fish in the Northeast.
The natural life cycle of eels is complicated. The Gulf Stream brings glass eels from the Sargasso Sea east of the US state of Florida to the European Atlantic coast and from there to the coastal waters and rivers. When they reach sexual maturity after eight to ten years, they migrate back to the Sargasso Sea to spawn.
According to experts, fewer and fewer young eels are able to survive this cycle. The reason for this is the construction and pollution of the rivers, but also the catching of too many glass eels. The young are considered a delicacy in Asia. Therefore, eels are raised in farms and released into local waters.
