With limited data for Conger eel (Conger conger), an absence of stock assessments and global catches at lowest ever recorded levels, there is concern for stock biomass. UK catches have remained stable, thus no concern for fishing pressure in this area.
Route 2 scoring has been applied to this rating owing to the lack of reference points for fishing pressure and biomass. Conger eel has low resilience to fishing pressure.
European conger eel (Conger conger) is an important commercial and recreational fishing species of the Northeast Atlantic and Mediterranean. The global conger eel fishery peaked in 1994, at 19,036 tonnes. There has been a significant drop in global catches in the last decade, from 18,500 tonnes in 2011, declining 455 by 2019, to 10,139 tonnes. In 2020, global catch reached its lowest ever level (9,507 tonnes) since records began in 1980.
Changes in landings can indicate changes in population sizes. However, there may be other causes, including changes in fishing practices, reduced incentive to catch the species if market value is low, and impacts from Covid. In the UK, MMO data indicates that average price per kg decreased 11% from 2016-2021, from £1.03/kg to £0.92/kg. Over the same period, landings declined 13%. However, there is no comparable data for global catches, and no analysis of the cause of the decline in any fisheries.
There is no data on the population structure and ecology of the species, although research suggests the Northeast Atlantic and the Mediterranean populations are probably separate. Very little information is available about biomass or population trends. In the absence of information about this species, there is concern for biomass.
UK catches have remained around 200 tonnes since 2012. In recent years (2016-2021), average catch in the UK has been 189 tonnes. This represents a relatively small proportion of global landings (1.8%, 2020). As recent landings are below the long-term average, and the UK fishery is a small contributor to fishing pressure on this species, we consider there to be no concern for fishing pressure in this area.
