Fishermen release 74,000 young eels into the Schlei to support Baltic stocks

Release operations in the Schlei

Commercial fishermen and recreational anglers released more than 74,000 young eels into the Schlei inlet on Thursday, October 1, 2026. The restocking effort formed part of the 17th annual 'Aalutsetten in de Schlie' campaign, organized jointly by commercial fishers and angling associations. Operations took place across several coastal locations along the inlet, with release actions conducted earlier in the day at Arnis and Kappeln before concluding at Maasholm harbour. Specialized transport tanks delivered the juvenile eels from a dedicated fish farm directly to the port, where workers transferred them into water-filled transport containers aboard boats to distribute them across the water. Schleswig-Holstein Fisheries Minister Cornelia Schmachtenberg assisted on site with weighing and releasing the fish. Each stocked eel weighed approximately 5 grams, and fisheries officials note that the animals will require at least three to four years in local waters to attain the statutory minimum catch size of 45 centimetres.

Annual stocking totals and regional programs

Thursday's autumn distribution supplemented larger restocking operations conducted across northern Germany earlier in the year. In spring 2026, regional fisheries groups released 1.05 million glass eels, each averaging roughly 0.33 grams in weight, across nine separate inland and coastal water bodies throughout Schleswig-Holstein. Approximately 780,000 of those spring glass eels were placed directly into the Schlei. Schlei fisherman Olaf Jensen stated in Maasholm that combined seasonal releases introduced 854,000 young eels into the inlet during 2026, representing an aggregate market value of 98,000 euros excluding value-added tax. Similar restocking programs operate across other German federal states, including Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and Brandenburg. The stocked specimens originate as wild glass eels harvested along Europe's Atlantic coast, which operators raise in specialized aquaculture facilities to increase survival rates before releasing them into natural habitats.

Population collapse and inland habitat pressures

The European eel previously served as a foundational catch species for northern European freshwater and coastal fisheries. According to the German Angling Association (DAFV), the species once comprised roughly half of all inland fish biomass across European waterways. However, data from the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) indicates that the volume of juvenile glass eels reaching European coastlines has fallen by 98 percent since the 1970s. Biologists and fishery experts attribute this steep decline to multiple compounding factors, including industrial contaminants, the structural alteration and damming of rivers and lakes, commercial overfishing, and climate change. Local fishermen also identify significant additional losses caused by hydroelectric power generation facilities and natural predators, particularly cormorants.

European Union regulation and life cycle constraints

In response to declining populations, the European Union implemented the Eel Regulation in 2007. The European eel is the only fish species across Europe governed by its own dedicated EU regulatory framework, which mandates national recovery plans and regular restocking measures. An official EU fitness check published in early 2020 confirmed that the regulation remains relevant and functionally appropriate as a policy tool for rebuilding eel biomass. Commercial breeding of European eels in captivity remains scientifically impossible, as all European and American eels originate exclusively in the Sargasso Sea off the coast of Florida at ocean depths exceeding 6,000 metres. The larvae drift eastward across the Atlantic Ocean for two years before ascending European river systems. Local fishermen note that stocked eels are appearing with increasing frequency in fyke nets and on angling hooks across the Schlei.