The eco label, which has been developed by Dr Jo Gascoigne from specialist fisheries consultancy, MacAlister Elliott and Partners, is the first of its kind and is a direct response by the industry to the recent collapse in glass eel arrival numbers and a decline in adult populations.
The sustainable standard is maintained by the Sustainable Eel Group (SEG), a European coalition of eel fishermen and farmers, conservationists, policy makers, NGOs and scientists. They called for retailers and caterers to buy from certified sustainable sources and to put eel back on the menu.
“We have spent more than a year developing the sustainable standard and running trials in the UK, France, Germany, Holland, Denmark and Sweden. It promotes the most responsible methods of fishing, transportation and farming, and greatly reduces mortalities,” explained group chairman Andrew Kerr. “At the end of this year, the first ‘eco-labeled’ eels will be on sale, which means that consumers can once again enjoy this delicacy, but without any guilt.”
New Sustainable Eel Ecolabel
UK - A new eel ecolabel was launched last week at Fishmongers Hall, London.
