Introduction
European Eel (Anguilla anguilla ) – a fish of Osteichthyes (bony fishes) taxonomic order, Anguillidae family. It dwells in fresh water and dies in salt water. The significant alterations to the Danube River’s course through the Djerdap Gorge occurred after the construction of the Iron Gate I and Iron Gate II dams, in 1970 and 1984. This led to an interruption of the Danube’s longitudinal continuity and to the curtailment of migration routes of anadromous fish species that migrate from the Black Sea up the Danube for spawning. In addition to having a negative effect on anadromous and potamodromous species, dams also have a negative effect on catadromous species such as the eel (Lenhardt et al., 2018). Generally, it is obvious a lack of data about research and the status of eel in Serbia, as well as any official statistical data in the previous period. Because, until 1968 the Statistical Office of Serbia collected catch data for species (incl. eel) recorded in rivers, channels, and lakes by both recreational and commercial fishermen together. Following that period, eels are only occasionally present in the catch of commercial fishermen, but there is no continuous monitoring of the species (Smederevac–Lalic et al., 2011). Worldwide, the status of European eel remains critical. The recruitment of European eels strongly declined from 1980 to 2011. Time series from 1980 to 2023 show that eel recruitment remains at a very low level (ICES, 2023). Based on the Law on the protection and sustainable use of fish stocks (Anonymous, 2014) in 2015, the Serbian Ministry of Agriculture and Environmental Protection introduced a permanent fishing ban on eel, that came into force in the same year through the Regulation for Conservation and protection of fish stocks (Anonymous, 2015).
Materials and Methods
The abovementioned data encouraged us to make a short analysis of available data about the status and endangerment of eel in Serbia incl. research results as well as public sources (media and newspapers).
Results and discussion
Besides the rare scientific publications about the biology and ecology of eel in Serbia, which are older than 10 years, it is interesting to mention some scientifically unverified data from local newspapers. So, it was found that in October 2009 one sports fisherman from Novi Sad caught a 90-centimeter-long eel on the Danube with a remark that “a catch that has not been recorded on the banks of a large European river in Novi Sad for half a century”. Four years later (2013) it was announced that two fishermen from the city of Uzice caught a 1.10-meter-long eel on Zlatar Lake (an artificial lake located among the mountains of Zlatibor and Zlatarin the Southwest part of Serbia). Local authorities from the Special Nature Reserve "Uvac " (to which Zlatar Lake belongs) supposed that “eel was born and raised in the Uvac canyon, and judging by its length, it led a secret life in the mud of the reservoir for more than 15 years”. Besides that, in the official report of the joint EIFAAC/ICES/GFCM working group on eels, WGEEL (ICES, 2023) it was published that a joint operation coordinated by Europol, involving law enforcement authorities across the globe, has dealt with a major blow to organized crime groups engaged in international glass eel trafficking. During the period from 2016 to 2023, more than 30 countries (including Serbia) participated in “Operation LAKE VII” led to the arrest of 256 persons responsible for the illegal trafficking of 25 tonnes of live eels worth around EUR 13 million.
The findings of this study suggest that there is a certain space for improvement of the status of eels in Serbia. Certainly, a necessary precondition for any action to be implemented would be to design extensive research about the current biology and ecology of eels in Serbia. Simultaneously, it is recommended capacity building in the local and governmental authorities about this threatened species. Besides the Serbian Ministry of Environmental Protection, there are two important institutions, which are in charge of concrete action in the field: the Institute for Nature Conservation of Serbia in Belgrade and the Institute for Nature Conservation of Vojvodina Province in Novi Sad. Indeed, according to our findings, there are only a few persons (experts) in these two institutes who are in charge of implementing measures to protect all endangered fish species (incl. eel) for the whole territory of Serbia. An additional activity would be a promotional campaign to raise awareness of the importance of the eel as an endangered species for target groups of schoolchildren and students in Serbia.
This research was funded by the Ministry of Education, Science and Technological development of Serbia on the basis of the contracts for the realization and financing of scientific research work in 2024 (The Contract No. 451-03-65/2024-03/ 200117).
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