Agriculture & Food

#TECM2614444AFrance updates Atlantic glass eel fishing dates and repopulation-market limits

🇫🇷France··Other·Medium Impact·View source ↗

AI-generated summary for informational purposes only. Not legal advice. See the original source for the authoritative text.

🇬🇧 English

This order changes the authorized fishing periods for European eel under 12 centimeters in Atlantic maritime areas. It replaces the previous schedule with new opening dates by eel management unit and basin, including Artois-Picardie, Seine-Normandie, Bretagne, Loire/Vendée/Sèvre niortaise, and Garonne-Dordogne-Charente-Seudre-Leyre areas. For fishing businesses and buyers, the key point is that many dates are open only for catches sold under the quota or sub-quota reserved for the repopulation market. Operators must check both the local fishing window and the permitted commercial destination before landing, selling, or buying glass eel catches.

AI-generated summary. May contain errors. Refer to official sources for legal decisions.

Key Changes

  • Replaces the previous 2025 table of Atlantic glass eel fishing periods with a new schedule by management unit and basin.
  • Sets specific opening dates for several Atlantic regions, with weekend closures and holiday exclusions in some areas.
  • Restricts commercialization during many listed periods to the quota or sub-quota reserved for the repopulation market.

Obligations

What this law requires

high

In the Artois-Picardie eel management unit, fishing of European eel under 12 cm in the maritime Atlantic area is only authorized from 1 February to 21 April inclusive.

commercial eel fishersfishing businesses
Fishing permitted only from 1 February to 21 April inclusive
operational
high

In Artois-Picardie, catches made from 1 to 14 February inclusive and from 17 March to 21 April inclusive may only be commercialized under the quota and sub-quota reserved for the repopulation market.

commercial eel fishersfish sellersseafood buyers
Applies to catches made from 1-14 February and 17 March-21 April inclusive
prohibition
high

In the Seine-Normandie eel management unit, fishing of European eel under 12 cm is only authorized from 15 January to 31 March inclusive.

commercial eel fishersfishing businesses
Fishing permitted only from 15 January to 31 March inclusive
operational
high

In Seine-Normandie, catches made during 15 January-3 February, 14-18 February, 27 February-6 March, 15-20 March, and 25-31 March inclusive may only be commercialized under the quota and sub-quota reserved for the repopulation market.

commercial eel fishersfish sellersseafood buyers
Applies during the specified restricted commercialization periods
prohibition
high

In Bretagne, fishing of European eel under 12 cm is authorized only on weekdays from 1 December to 20 March inclusive of the following year, excluding 25 December and 1 January; fishing is closed on Saturdays and Sundays.

commercial eel fishersfishing businesses
Weekdays only from 1 December to 20 March inclusive, excluding 25 December and 1 January
operational

Affected Parties

Glass eel fishers in French Atlantic maritime areasSeafood traders and buyers handling European eel under 12 centimeters+2 more…

Tags

fisheries,European eel,Atlantic maritime areas