Recovering the eel: development of scientific-technical tools for the implementation of management plans in European basins

The aim of the project is to develop and apply tools aimed at the implementation of the European eel (Anguilla anguilla) recovery plans.

More specifically, it is intended to:

To estimate the eel biomass in the Oria estuary.
Determine the impacts it suffers and make a proposal to manage the fishery in a sustainable way.
To find a model that allows calculating the escape of silver eel from the basins of northern Spain.
To estimate the mortality caused by hydroelectric power plants in the eel population of the Oria River basin.
Propose corrective measures to reduce their impact.
To test different reforestation formulas in the Oria and Urumea basins, which serve as a basis for designing a long-term reintroduction programme and calculating the wetland area of the Oria.

The actions planned for this are:

Experimental eel fishing and upward migration sampling.
Review of the existing models for the calculation of silver eel leakage, selection of the most suitable for the Oria basin and making the necessary adaptations.
Bibliographic review on the different types of turbines in the Oria and characterization of hydroelectric power plants.
Preparation of tagging tests on eels, tagging and release of angles, carrying out monitoring electric fishing and analysis of the results.
Bibliographic review for the calculation of the wetland area of the Oria.