Poles transferred over 9,000 eels to the Baltic Sea to prevent Russians from overfishing them
An unusual operation to rescue European eels living in the Vistula Lagoon near the Russian border has been completed in Poland. Scientists, together with local fishermen, caught more than 9,000 fish and transported them to the open Baltic Sea to prevent them from falling into the nets of Russian fishermen, writes Wirtualna Polska.
According to the Polish Maritime Fisheries Institute, the operation lasted from October 5 to October 27, 2026. During this time, 9,110 eels with a total weight of 8.8 tons were removed from the Vistula Lagoon. The lagoon is a large shallow body of water in the Baltic Sea, divided between Poland and Russia: its northeastern part belongs to the Kaliningrad Oblast.
Live fish were collected from fishermen in five port towns: Krynica Morska, Kąty Rybackie, Nowa Pasłęka, Frombork, and Suchacz. Priority was given to adult silver eels — these are fish that are already ready for a long spawning migration. The conditions under which the fish were temporarily kept were also taken into account.
The eels were caught using safe fyke nets. After that, fishermen briefly placed them in tanks with well-oxygenated water. Specialists checked the condition of each fish: young eels were released back, while the others were weighed and transferred to tanks placed on trucks.
The Maritime Fisheries Institute explained that thanks to this operation, the relocated eels will be able to avoid mortality and fishing pressure from the Russian side of the lagoon. This will increase their chances of reaching spawning grounds and giving rise to a new generation.
The fish were released into Gdańsk Bay near the port of Nowy Świat, already on the open sea side. The location was specifically chosen so that the eels could continue their migration to the Atlantic Ocean, bypassing the Russian part of the Vistula Lagoon.
One hundred eels were equipped with acoustic transmitters. Their signals will be picked up by underwater microphones — hydrophones — placed along the assumed migration route. In particular, such devices will be installed in the Danish Straits, which connect the Baltic Sea with the North Sea. This will allow researchers to find out where the fish are heading.
Scientists hope that the relocation will help the eels reach their breeding grounds. This species spawns in the Sargasso Sea — an area of the Atlantic Ocean near the Bermuda Islands, which has no coasts and is surrounded by ocean currents.
The institute noted that one of the main goals of the European Union's strategy is to restore the population of European eels. To achieve this, it is necessary to ensure the migration of at least 40% of silver eels to the Sargasso Sea, compared to their numbers before increased anthropogenic impact and population decline.
The operation cost about 3.6 million zlotys (about 910 thousand dollars). More than 2.5 million zlotys (about 632 thousand dollars) was allocated by the European Maritime, Fisheries and Aquaculture Fund.
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Comments
Вось Вісленскі заліў. Вось выхад з яго ў мора - Балтыйскі праліў. Ягоныя два берагі на тэрыторыі Расеі. Рыба інакш не выйдзе ў мора.
На польскай тэрыторыі ёсць свой суднаходны канал у мора, але з-за шлюзаў міграцыя рыбы там амаль не магчымая.
Трудно найти что-то достаточно приличное, где нету российского следа или какого-нибудь новичка.
Подорвали к себе уважение руzские и когда отмоются - не видно близкой перспективы.