Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 21 May 2013
457. Deputy Ciara Conway asked the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources if he will commission the IFI to undertake a survey into the status of harbour eels in the Waterford estuary to establish the volume and age of eels in the area; if local fishermen could be employed to help conduct this survey; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24313/13]
View answerI am advised by Inland Fisheries Ireland (IFI) that surveys of eel stocks were carried out in the Waterford estuary in 2009 and 2011. The surveys indicated probable high levels of movement within these waters which made estimating the population difficult.
Preliminary analysis of samples taken from the Barrow Transitional Water indicates a mean eel age of 9 years ranging from 4 to 15 years old. The average growth rate is 3.78 cm per year. The high growth rate confirms the importance of the transitional waters as a productive habitat for eels.
The surveys provided important data, but estimating silver eel escapement/production for transitional waters remains extremely challenging. This is because of the difficulties in obtaining density estimates for eels in large water bodies and quantifying the migratory habits of eels moving upstream into the rivers and/or leaving the transitional water as silver eel.
To overcome these challenges a clearer indication of the movement habits of eels in estuaries and expanding knowledge of population density is now required. Therefore the research priority now is to continue the eel tagging studies undertaken in 2012 into 2013 rather than repeat the previous surveys.
It is critical for all concerned that knowledge on eel movement within the estuary is developed and improved and for that reason acoustic tagging and tracking studies are paramount. However, I am advised by IFI that if further eel survey work is required after the tagging programme, they will again consider a role for fishermen in that context.
