Two million young eels released in Randmeren

Two million young eels were released in the Randmeren on Friday. The DUPAN foundation, which monitors eel stocks in the Netherlands, reported that the young eels come from the French Atlantic estuaries. At this time of year, there is a surplus of the young fish, also called elvers.

In the Netherlands, there are simply too few young eels. The government therefore introduced an eel replenishment plan in 2009 and releases glass eels annually to increase the eel stock.

Glass eels are born in the Sargasso Sea off the Mexican coast. After a journey of 6000 kilometers, they arrive on European coasts to grow up in inland waters. But the coasts are impenetrable for the young eels. Therefore, some of the elvers, which accumulate en masse on the French coast, are released elsewhere in Europe.

This spring, more young eels will be released at various locations in the Netherlands in suitable areas selected by the government. When the glass eels have grown into adult eels (silver eels), they can swim freely from these areas into the Atlantic Ocean to provide offspring in the Sargasso Sea.