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Originally Posted by ronfish
MakoMike- From reading the postings I think most respondents believe that the American eel is being overfished when the main problem is the adults being killed by the power plant turbines while they migrate back to the sea. Add to this the dams which are keeping the young from reaching the freshwater growing grounds and it doesn't take much to completely deplete the species. If the root cause of the problem isn't addressed then the powers that be can ban fishing for them, etc. but the eel will become extinct. I know many of the areas where 30-40 yrs. ago you could fill a boat with eels now you see none, and alot of it has to do with coastal development and a power plant.
Banning using eels without rectifying the main problem isn't going to increase the population. To me the wrong agency is looking inot the problem. Just my $.02. Ron
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You are absolutely right if what you are saying is that fishing for eels is only part of the problem. But that is the only aspect that the ASMFC can control. IMHO eel fishing has got be addressed, preferably in conjunction with other restrictions on dams, but we have to dramatically decrease all eel mortality, no matter what the cause.
Chef,
The asians mostly use native eels as well as some farm rasied American eels, the Europeans also import some American eels but mostly use european eels, which are a different species than the American eel.