Dekker, Willem
(2019).
The history of commercial fisheries for European eel commenced only a century ago.
Fisheries management and ecology. 26
, 6-19
[Journal article]
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Abstract
The stock of the European eel is in decline throughout its distribution area-for decades, if not for centuries. Its population dynamics are not well understood. The extremely scattered occurrence, as well as the general lack of quantified information before 1950, prevents a straightforward analysis. This article discusses the history of eel fisheries across Europe, reviewing the literature published before 1940. A follow-up study is advocated, to unearth primary information in archives across Europe. In the late 1800s, development programmes were initiated in central Europe, complementing the widespread subsistence fisheries with "modern" commercial exploitation of new areas, new markets and new products. In the early 1900s, increasing fisheries and trade were reported throughout northern Europe, and new developments started in the south. This lasted until about 1950-when the current multidecadal decline set in. The eel fisheries have never experienced a period of stable, sustainable exploitation. The decline in the stock is probably not a simple case of overfishing, but a continent-wide serial depletion of local resources-eventually depleting the whole stock-in times of growing non-fisheries impacts. Consequences for the European eel protection programme and for the derivation of restoration targets are discussed.
Authors/Creators: | Dekker, Willem | ||||||
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Title: | The history of commercial fisheries for European eel commenced only a century ago | ||||||
Series/Journal: | Fisheries management and ecology (0969-997X) | ||||||
Year of publishing : | 2019 | ||||||
Volume: | 26 | ||||||
Page range: | 6-19 | ||||||
Number of Pages: | 14 | ||||||
Publisher: | Wiley | ||||||
ISSN: | 0969-997X | ||||||
Language: | English | ||||||
Publication Type: | Journal article | ||||||
Refereed: | Yes | ||||||
Article category: | Scientific peer reviewed | ||||||
Version: | Published version | ||||||
Copyright: | Creative Commons: Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 | ||||||
Full Text Status: | Public | ||||||
Subjects: | (A) Swedish standard research categories 2011 > 4 Agricultural Sciences > 401 Agricultural, Forestry and Fisheries > Fish and Aquacultural Science (A) Swedish standard research categories 2011 > 5 Social Sciences > 502 Economics and Business > Economic History | ||||||
Keywords: | Anguilla, eel, eel smoking, fisheries, history, serial depletion | ||||||
URN:NBN: | urn:nbn:se:slu:epsilon-e-5206 | ||||||
Permanent URL: | http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:slu:epsilon-e-5206 | ||||||
Additional ID: |
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ID Code: | 15881 | ||||||
Faculty: | NJ - Fakulteten för naturresurser och jordbruksvetenskap | ||||||
Department: | (NL, NJ) > Department of Aquatic Resources | ||||||
Deposited By: | SLUpub Connector | ||||||
Deposited On: | 05 Feb 2019 09:36 | ||||||
Metadata Last Modified: | 10 Sep 2020 15:05 |
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