As reported by the Marine Fisheries Institute, from October 5 to 27, 2026, scientists together with local fishermen caught and transported European eels. In total, 9,110 fish weighing 8.8 tonnes combined were removed from the Vistula Lagoon. The Vistula Lagoon is a large shallow lagoon on the Baltic Sea, shared between Poland and Russia (its northeastern part belongs to the Kaliningrad Oblast).

Live eels were taken from fishermen in five port towns. These are Krynica Morska, Kąty Rybackie, Nowa Pasłęka, Frombork, and Suchacz. Primarily adult silver eels were selected. This is the name for fish that are already ready to set off on a long journey to spawn. They also took into account how and under what conditions the fish had been temporarily kept.

As the institute explains, the eels were caught with safe trap nets. After that, the fishermen kept them briefly in tanks with well-oxygenated water. When the fish were collected, specialists checked their condition. Young eels were released back, while the rest were weighed and transferred to basins installed on trucks.

"Thanks to this operation, the relocated eels will not be exposed to mortality and fishing pressure on the Russian side of the water area and will have increased chances of spawning and starting a new generation of eels," the scientific institution reported.

According to the scientists, each batch of fish was released into the Gulf of Gdańsk near the Nowy Świat port, that is, already on the open sea side. This location was chosen deliberately so that the eels could calmly swim on to the Atlantic Ocean and bypass the Russian part of the Vistula Lagoon.

As the publication notes, 100 eels received acoustic transmitters. Their signals will be detected by specialists using underwater microphones—hydrophones—placed along the fish's likely route. In particular, such devices will be installed in the Danish straits connecting the Baltic Sea with the North Sea. This will help determine where exactly the eels will swim next.

Scientists expect that the relocation will help the fish reach their breeding grounds and give life to a new generation. Eels of this species spawn in the Sargasso Sea. This is a part of the Atlantic Ocean near the Bermuda Islands, without shores, surrounded only by ocean currents. Therefore, as the institute emphasizes, the opportunity to leave the Vistula Lagoon is very important for the species protection program.

"The main goal of the EU strategy is to restore the population of this species in order to ensure migration to the Sargasso Sea of at least 40% of silver eels compared to the state before the intensification of anthropogenic pressure and the collapse of the population," the institute explained.

According to available data, the operation cost about 37.8 million hryvnias (3.6 million zlotys) in total. More than 26.25 million hryvnias (2.5 million zlotys) of this sum was allocated by the European Maritime, Fisheries and Aquaculture Fund.

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