144th Annual Meeting of the American Fisheries Society

August 17 - 21, 2014

The Symposium will be convened by an international committee with European and North American representatives. In 2003, AFS held an eel symposium at its annual meeting, also in Quebec City, which culminated in the "Quebec Declaration of Concern," which highlighted the international nature of the eel conservation problem. Following a decadal descent to historically low abundances of northern temperate eel stocks, management and protection of these iconic species have been initiated. Intensified monitoring and novel frameworks for international assessment now yield more insight into overall stock dynamics, although major anthropogenic impacts remain unquantified.  Responsible agencies have taken measures to protect eel stocks. Have these measures provided adequate protection?  What is adequate? We need to come to grips with the core issues of what is happening to eel populations, and why. We also need to define and implement effective means to marshal species-wide joint action on eel assessment and conservation. In Europe, international integration of eel protection is underway, while in North America only tentative steps have been taken.

The Symposium invites submissions on the following:

- Eel stock status in different regions/countries,

- Anthropogenic impacts causing or contributing to the decline of eel stocks,

- Methodologies for monitoring and assessment of stocks, and quantification of mortality,

- Application of aboriginal, traditional, and historic knowledge to stock dynamics and conservation,

- The effect of protective measures on stock dynamics,

- The effects of stocking and other manipulations on stock dynamics,

- Eel passage at hydroelectric facilities,

- Oceanic processes in interaction with continental stock protection,

- Eel genetics and its relevance for conservation,

- Integrated inter-jurisdictional governance,

- Socio-economics of eel fisheries.

Priority will be given to presentations that deal with eel conservation.  The Symposium will emphasize Atlantic eel species, but relevant contributions on other eel species will also be considered.