Arkadiusz Wołos, Maciej Mickiewicz, Tomasz Czerwiński
ABSTRACT. The responses in 87 questionnaires on management and market factors significant to eel production that were completed by users of approximately 287 989 ha of waters in the Vistula and Oder river basins were analyzed. According to the respondents, approximately 20% of total stocking expenditures are for eel stocking, and despite declining catches of this species, it remains economically important. The lesser importance of eel in fisheries enterprises surveyed in the Oder River basin stems from the fact that the Polish Angling Association (PAA) exploits 47.4 % of the analyzed water surface area, while PAA branches exploit 33.6 % of the water surface area in the Vistula River basin. In nearly 53% of the waters exploited, users reported no eel die-offs, while sporadic die-offs were reported in nearly 39% of these waters. The factors surveyed, including legal limitations, were not considered by those surveyed to be very significant to eel management. Factors such as the availability and cost of stocking material and closed seasons were considered by those surveyed to be of more significance, while protected sizes and daily recreational catch limits were reported by those surveyed to be of less significance.
Key words: European eel, fisheries, management and market factors
Przyjęto po recenzji 16.06.2015 r.