| Re: English Eels
Eels have to be caught to be 'farmed on' - you can't farm eels as they won't breed. We catch them as elvers and then sell them to europe who grow them on rapidly using the warm discharge from the cooling process within energy plants. The grown eels are then sold off to Asia for a big price. Elvers are worth even more. A very small bowl of elvers will cost you about £80. There has been a massive reduction in eel fishing in this country but not in the European countries. Elvers are caught and sold to asia through legal and illegal trading. We can't afford to have a jury out on this. I believe that eel fishing should be banned throughout the whole of Europe.
One other thing - if you you consider the build of toxins that prevented otters from reproducing in the 60s (DDT's and PCB's) and that otters favourite food is supposedly eels....perhaps the eels have had their endocrines disrupted too, but there has been a longer lag time before the consequences have become visible? As far as I'm aware, no one else has ever suggested this theory let alone tested it. If there are any eel experts out there, I would be extremely keen to hear your views on this.  |