{"id":643,"date":"2020-04-20T18:09:27","date_gmt":"2020-04-20T18:09:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/courses.lsa.umich.edu\/healthy-oceans\/?page_id=643"},"modified":"2020-04-20T20:30:34","modified_gmt":"2020-04-20T20:30:34","slug":"freshwater-eels-are-endangered","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/courses.lsa.umich.edu\/healthy-oceans\/freshwater-eels-are-endangered\/","title":{"rendered":"Save the Eels!"},"content":{"rendered":"<h4 style=\"text-align: center\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Eels play a very important role in aquatic ecosystems, as they help regulate the populations of other animals, and eels themselves are important prey for other species. Eels are in crisis because of several reasons, some being man made structures, illegal fishing, and commercial fishing.\u00a0 Our goal is to teach people about why eels are so important and why we need to save them!<\/span><\/h4>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-647 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/courses.lsa.umich.edu\/healthy-oceans\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2020\/04\/unnamed-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"296\" height=\"512\" srcset=\"https:\/\/courses.lsa.umich.edu\/healthy-oceans\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2020\/04\/unnamed-1.jpg 296w, https:\/\/courses.lsa.umich.edu\/healthy-oceans\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2020\/04\/unnamed-1-173x300.jpg 173w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 296px) 100vw, 296px\" \/><\/p>\n<h2><\/h2>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: center\"><strong>Most Common Freshwater Eel Species<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">American Eel<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> (our campaign\u2019s focus)- Endangered<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">European Eel<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">&#8211; Critically Endangered<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Both European and American Eel species breed in the Sargasso Sea but then live most of their lives in freshwaters in the Americas or Europe.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Japanese Eel<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">&#8211; Endangered<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Japanese eels are thought to breed west of the Mariana islands, but much of their breeding habits are unknown. They live most of their lives in freshwaters of Japan, China, Taiwan, and Korea.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">All three of these species are threatened by the same problems, just on different continents<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><\/h2>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: center\"><strong>Freshwater Eels are Endangered!<\/strong><\/h2>\n<h5><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Freshwater eels are being overfished to the point of pushing their populations to the brink of collapse. According to the Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch, harvesting local freshwater eel for use in the United States comes from endangered and critically endangered wild populations. Thus, eel is ranked as one of the worst seafood choices to choose due to its impact on the environment and eel populations.<\/span><\/h5>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-644 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/courses.lsa.umich.edu\/healthy-oceans\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2020\/04\/pasted-image-0.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" srcset=\"https:\/\/courses.lsa.umich.edu\/healthy-oceans\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2020\/04\/pasted-image-0.png 1024w, https:\/\/courses.lsa.umich.edu\/healthy-oceans\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2020\/04\/pasted-image-0-300x200.png 300w, https:\/\/courses.lsa.umich.edu\/healthy-oceans\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2020\/04\/pasted-image-0-768x512.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/p>\n<h2><\/h2>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: center\"><strong>Why are Eels Endangered?<\/strong><\/h2>\n<h5><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Eels are endangered due to a number of reasons. Overfishing being the main reason but others include:<\/span><\/h5>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Illegal fishing and exporting<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Man-made structures like hydropower turbines and pumping stations interrupt eel movements\/kill them by getting swept into these structures<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Chemical pollution (heavy metals and pesticides) in rivers<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Climate change (water temperature and acidity) affects eel migration patterns and harming their sensory abilities\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Increasing threats from plastic pollution to their breeding range<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft wp-image-658 \" src=\"https:\/\/courses.lsa.umich.edu\/healthy-oceans\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2020\/04\/unnamed-1.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"315\" height=\"446\" srcset=\"https:\/\/courses.lsa.umich.edu\/healthy-oceans\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2020\/04\/unnamed-1.png 362w, https:\/\/courses.lsa.umich.edu\/healthy-oceans\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2020\/04\/unnamed-1-212x300.png 212w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 315px) 100vw, 315px\" \/> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-657 alignnone\" src=\"https:\/\/courses.lsa.umich.edu\/healthy-oceans\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2020\/04\/unnamed-2.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"426\" height=\"444\" srcset=\"https:\/\/courses.lsa.umich.edu\/healthy-oceans\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2020\/04\/unnamed-2.png 491w, https:\/\/courses.lsa.umich.edu\/healthy-oceans\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2020\/04\/unnamed-2-288x300.png 288w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 426px) 100vw, 426px\" \/><\/p>\n<h2><\/h2>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: center\"><strong>The Importance of the Sargasso Sea to Freshwater Eels<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The Sargasso Sea is extremely important for both European and American Eels.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">American eels lay eggs and are born in the Sargasso Sea. Once the eggs hatch, the babies which are no bigger than a thumb, travel 1000 miles to freshwaters in the Americas.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Once they are ready to breed, the eels make the journey back to the Sargasso Sea.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft wp-image-659 \" src=\"https:\/\/courses.lsa.umich.edu\/healthy-oceans\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2020\/04\/Screenshot-2020-04-20-at-2.51.19-PM.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"365\" height=\"249\" srcset=\"https:\/\/courses.lsa.umich.edu\/healthy-oceans\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2020\/04\/Screenshot-2020-04-20-at-2.51.19-PM.png 596w, https:\/\/courses.lsa.umich.edu\/healthy-oceans\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2020\/04\/Screenshot-2020-04-20-at-2.51.19-PM-300x205.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 365px) 100vw, 365px\" \/> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright wp-image-660 \" src=\"https:\/\/courses.lsa.umich.edu\/healthy-oceans\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2020\/04\/Screenshot-2020-04-20-at-2.51.10-PM.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"367\" height=\"245\" srcset=\"https:\/\/courses.lsa.umich.edu\/healthy-oceans\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2020\/04\/Screenshot-2020-04-20-at-2.51.10-PM.png 616w, https:\/\/courses.lsa.umich.edu\/healthy-oceans\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2020\/04\/Screenshot-2020-04-20-at-2.51.10-PM-300x200.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 367px) 100vw, 367px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 <\/span><\/p>\n<h4>Unfortunately, this <strong>\u2193<\/strong> \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0is starting to look more like this <strong>\u2193<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-662 \" src=\"https:\/\/courses.lsa.umich.edu\/healthy-oceans\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2020\/04\/unnamed-3.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"415\" height=\"248\" srcset=\"https:\/\/courses.lsa.umich.edu\/healthy-oceans\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2020\/04\/unnamed-3.png 512w, https:\/\/courses.lsa.umich.edu\/healthy-oceans\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2020\/04\/unnamed-3-300x179.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 415px) 100vw, 415px\" \/> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-661 \" src=\"https:\/\/courses.lsa.umich.edu\/healthy-oceans\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2020\/04\/unnamed-4.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"355\" height=\"248\" srcset=\"https:\/\/courses.lsa.umich.edu\/healthy-oceans\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2020\/04\/unnamed-4.png 512w, https:\/\/courses.lsa.umich.edu\/healthy-oceans\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2020\/04\/unnamed-4-300x210.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 355px) 100vw, 355px\" \/><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Ocean currents have caused the accumulation of plastic in the Sargasso Sea creating the North Atlantic Garbage Patch, estimated to be hundreds of Km in size.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">This causes negative impacts on freshwater eel migrations and breedings, as a result of all the plastic pollution.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">We can help by reducing our plastic waste, supporting laws to decrease plastic use, and supporting research about plastics in our oceans.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><\/h2>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: center\"><strong>Why are Eels Important?<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Eels are a critical food source for many birds, mammals, and large fish<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Eels are a top predator in many river or stream ecosystems, meaning they help maintain biodiversity by making sure one species of fish doesn\u2019t take over the ecosystem<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Eels are important for keeping rivers and streams clean<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Eels transport the larva of filter-feeding mussels around freshwaters<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">These mussels filter out pollutants from the water, keeping the environment and people healthy<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">When eels disappear, the mussels do as well<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Eels are important in preserving balanced ecology, due to the several aquatic interactions eels are involved in<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><\/h2>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: center\"><strong>Past Conservation Efforts: A Brief History of American Eel Conservation<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">In the past several decades American eel populations have declined by over 50%.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The endangerment of other eel species worldwide have led to high demand for American eel.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">In 2011, a tsunami in Japan led the Japanese eel populations to decline (a species that is already endangered).<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">In 2012, much of Europe banned the harvest of the European eel (a critically endangered species).<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Leading to increased harvesting of American eel to meet the high demand for eel in countries that had previously depended on Japanese and European eels.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">There have been attempts to include the American eel on the Endangered Species Act list (most recently in 2015) but efforts have failed meaning <\/span><b>American<\/b> <b>eels have no protections.<\/b><b>\u00a0<\/b><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><\/h2>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: center\"><strong>Eel Conservation Is In Your Hands<\/strong><\/h2>\n<h5 style=\"text-align: center\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">A lack of laws protecting American eels mean consumers have to make conscious decisions on their own when purchasing and ordering seafood to <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">protect the species<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> from extinction and to ensure healthy ecosystems thrive for future generations.\u00a0<\/span><\/h5>\n<h5 style=\"text-align: center\"><b>How can we do this?<\/b><\/h5>\n<h5 style=\"text-align: center\"><b>Supporting a sustainable future for eels!<\/b><\/h5>\n<h2><\/h2>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: center\"><strong>What Will a Sustainable Future for Eels Look Like?<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft wp-image-673 \" src=\"https:\/\/courses.lsa.umich.edu\/healthy-oceans\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2020\/04\/Screenshot-2020-04-20-at-2.59.31-PM.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"162\" height=\"161\" srcset=\"https:\/\/courses.lsa.umich.edu\/healthy-oceans\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2020\/04\/Screenshot-2020-04-20-at-2.59.31-PM.png 321w, https:\/\/courses.lsa.umich.edu\/healthy-oceans\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2020\/04\/Screenshot-2020-04-20-at-2.59.31-PM-300x300.png 300w, https:\/\/courses.lsa.umich.edu\/healthy-oceans\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2020\/04\/Screenshot-2020-04-20-at-2.59.31-PM-150x150.png 150w, https:\/\/courses.lsa.umich.edu\/healthy-oceans\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2020\/04\/Screenshot-2020-04-20-at-2.59.31-PM-200x200.png 200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 162px) 100vw, 162px\" \/><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-672 alignright\" src=\"https:\/\/courses.lsa.umich.edu\/healthy-oceans\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2020\/04\/Screenshot-2020-04-20-at-2.59.42-PM.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"558\" height=\"171\" srcset=\"https:\/\/courses.lsa.umich.edu\/healthy-oceans\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2020\/04\/Screenshot-2020-04-20-at-2.59.42-PM.png 911w, https:\/\/courses.lsa.umich.edu\/healthy-oceans\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2020\/04\/Screenshot-2020-04-20-at-2.59.42-PM-300x92.png 300w, https:\/\/courses.lsa.umich.edu\/healthy-oceans\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2020\/04\/Screenshot-2020-04-20-at-2.59.42-PM-768x235.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 558px) 100vw, 558px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h5><\/h5>\n<h5 style=\"text-align: center\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">When looking at a sustainable future for eels, there are several aspects we must look at in order to attain sustainability in the future like social, environmental and economic aspects of eels in general. These photos are from the Sustainable Eel Group Code of Conduct for a Responsible Eel Sector.<\/span><\/h5>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-674 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/courses.lsa.umich.edu\/healthy-oceans\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2020\/04\/Artboard-1-100-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"792\" height=\"1368\" srcset=\"https:\/\/courses.lsa.umich.edu\/healthy-oceans\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2020\/04\/Artboard-1-100-1.jpg 792w, https:\/\/courses.lsa.umich.edu\/healthy-oceans\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2020\/04\/Artboard-1-100-1-174x300.jpg 174w, https:\/\/courses.lsa.umich.edu\/healthy-oceans\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2020\/04\/Artboard-1-100-1-593x1024.jpg 593w, https:\/\/courses.lsa.umich.edu\/healthy-oceans\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2020\/04\/Artboard-1-100-1-768x1327.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 792px) 100vw, 792px\" \/><\/p>\n<h2><\/h2>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: center\"><strong>The Monterey Bay Aquarium\u2019s Sustainable Seafood Guide: Eels<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p style=\"text-align: center\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The Monterey Bay Aquarium has developed a sustainable seafood tool that can help consumers make educated choices when purchasing seafood. Specifically for eels, you can use <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.seafoodwatch.org\/seafood-recommendations\/groups\/eel?type=american&amp;method=farmed&amp;location=domestic#tab=seafood-watch\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">this website<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> to see recommendations for sustainable seafood options for eel consumption. You can input information about the kind of eel, farmed or wild caught, and if it&#8217;s from a domestic or international location to determine if it\u2019s good to purchase or should be avoided.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft wp-image-675 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/courses.lsa.umich.edu\/healthy-oceans\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2020\/04\/pasted-image-0-1.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"834\" height=\"488\" srcset=\"https:\/\/courses.lsa.umich.edu\/healthy-oceans\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2020\/04\/pasted-image-0-1.png 834w, https:\/\/courses.lsa.umich.edu\/healthy-oceans\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2020\/04\/pasted-image-0-1-300x176.png 300w, https:\/\/courses.lsa.umich.edu\/healthy-oceans\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2020\/04\/pasted-image-0-1-768x449.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 834px) 100vw, 834px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Within this example, the type of eel chosen is American eel, farmed, and domestically caught, producing two recommendations to avoid purchasing these eel choices.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><\/h2>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: center\"><strong>The Monterey Bay Aquarium\u2019s Seafood Watch Guide for Michigan<\/strong><\/h2>\n<h5 style=\"text-align: center\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">To help educate the public, the Monterey Bay Aquarium has produced a guide for choosing sustainable seafood options for each state through their Seafood Watch guides. This image shows our guide for the state of Michigan that we can use when choosing what seafood to consume! As alternative options to choosing eel, which is largely unsustainable.<\/span><\/h5>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft wp-image-677 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/courses.lsa.umich.edu\/healthy-oceans\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2020\/04\/Screenshot-2020-04-01-at-6.44.28-PM-1.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"969\" height=\"478\" srcset=\"https:\/\/courses.lsa.umich.edu\/healthy-oceans\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2020\/04\/Screenshot-2020-04-01-at-6.44.28-PM-1.png 969w, https:\/\/courses.lsa.umich.edu\/healthy-oceans\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2020\/04\/Screenshot-2020-04-01-at-6.44.28-PM-1-300x148.png 300w, https:\/\/courses.lsa.umich.edu\/healthy-oceans\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2020\/04\/Screenshot-2020-04-01-at-6.44.28-PM-1-768x379.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 969px) 100vw, 969px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Included in the photo is the Monterey Bay Aquarium\u2019s printable guide for choosing <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">sustainable seafood options in Michigan<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">. This can be used while in the grocery store and choosing what types of seafood to purchase.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><\/h2>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: center\"><strong>Sustainable Eel Farming<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p style=\"text-align: center\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u201cThe production of eels is considered 100 percent reliant on endangered and critically endangered wild populations for farm stock\u201d says the Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch, so even the \u201csustainable\u201d eel farming is not the best option.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">One option that the Monterey Bay Aquarium has as a \u201cGood Alternative\u201d is the American eel (glass eel) raised using fyke nets located in the Northwest Atlantic oceans and North American inland waters.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft wp-image-678 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/courses.lsa.umich.edu\/healthy-oceans\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2020\/04\/Screen-Shot-2020-04-14-at-1.35.32-PM.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"1600\" height=\"277\" srcset=\"https:\/\/courses.lsa.umich.edu\/healthy-oceans\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2020\/04\/Screen-Shot-2020-04-14-at-1.35.32-PM.png 1600w, https:\/\/courses.lsa.umich.edu\/healthy-oceans\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2020\/04\/Screen-Shot-2020-04-14-at-1.35.32-PM-300x52.png 300w, https:\/\/courses.lsa.umich.edu\/healthy-oceans\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2020\/04\/Screen-Shot-2020-04-14-at-1.35.32-PM-1024x177.png 1024w, https:\/\/courses.lsa.umich.edu\/healthy-oceans\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2020\/04\/Screen-Shot-2020-04-14-at-1.35.32-PM-768x133.png 768w, https:\/\/courses.lsa.umich.edu\/healthy-oceans\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2020\/04\/Screen-Shot-2020-04-14-at-1.35.32-PM-1536x266.png 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px\" \/> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-679 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/courses.lsa.umich.edu\/healthy-oceans\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2020\/04\/unnamed-7.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"512\" height=\"301\" srcset=\"https:\/\/courses.lsa.umich.edu\/healthy-oceans\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2020\/04\/unnamed-7.png 512w, https:\/\/courses.lsa.umich.edu\/healthy-oceans\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2020\/04\/unnamed-7-300x176.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 512px) 100vw, 512px\" \/><\/p>\n<h5 style=\"text-align: center\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Glass eel fisheries harvest eels as they return from ocean spawning areas to freshwater, using fyke nets\u00a0 to collect glass eels. Bycatch rates are generally low in fyke nates, also making them more sustainable since other species are not being greatly impacted.<\/span><\/h5>\n<h2><\/h2>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: center\"><strong>Sustainable Eel Options<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-686 alignleft\" src=\"https:\/\/courses.lsa.umich.edu\/healthy-oceans\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2020\/04\/unnamed-8-300x270.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"166\" height=\"150\" srcset=\"https:\/\/courses.lsa.umich.edu\/healthy-oceans\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2020\/04\/unnamed-8-300x270.png 300w, https:\/\/courses.lsa.umich.edu\/healthy-oceans\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2020\/04\/unnamed-8.png 512w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 166px) 100vw, 166px\" \/><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-685 alignright\" src=\"https:\/\/courses.lsa.umich.edu\/healthy-oceans\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2020\/04\/unnamed-9-300x126.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"126\" srcset=\"https:\/\/courses.lsa.umich.edu\/healthy-oceans\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2020\/04\/unnamed-9-300x126.png 300w, https:\/\/courses.lsa.umich.edu\/healthy-oceans\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2020\/04\/unnamed-9.png 346w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/>\u00a0<span style=\"font-weight: 400\">If you&#8217;re looking for sustainable eel be sure to check for the <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Sustainable Eel Group<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> or the <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Eel Stewardship Fund logo <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">on products<\/span>\u00a0that you purchase. We want consumers to be aware that their choices have consequences on eel populations that are endangered or threatened. When consumers buy products with these logos, they are supporting responsible and sustainable practices in eel fishing, farming and packaging.<\/p>\n<h2><\/h2>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: center\"><strong>Shopping and Ordering Sustainable Eel and Seafood<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p style=\"text-align: center\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Learning how to identify sustainable seafood can be difficult because it is hard to identify small labels on packaging and can be uncomfortable if you are unsure what to ask.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Next time you are ordering food at a restaurant with seafood, look on the menu for a sustainability label. If one is not present ask your server, \u201c<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Was this seafood sustainability caught?<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u201d \u201c<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Can I speak to the chef if you are unsure?<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u201d At the grocery store, be sure to look for seafood with labels that say, \u201c<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Sustainability fished<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u201d or \u201c<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Farmed Responsibly<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">.\u201d If there is not a label present, ask the fishmonger, \u201c<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Is this seafood sustainably fished\/farmed?<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft wp-image-687 \" src=\"https:\/\/courses.lsa.umich.edu\/healthy-oceans\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2020\/04\/unnamed-10.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"461\" height=\"267\" srcset=\"https:\/\/courses.lsa.umich.edu\/healthy-oceans\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2020\/04\/unnamed-10.png 512w, https:\/\/courses.lsa.umich.edu\/healthy-oceans\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2020\/04\/unnamed-10-300x174.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 461px) 100vw, 461px\" \/> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright wp-image-688 \" src=\"https:\/\/courses.lsa.umich.edu\/healthy-oceans\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2020\/04\/unnamed-2.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"265\" height=\"265\" srcset=\"https:\/\/courses.lsa.umich.edu\/healthy-oceans\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2020\/04\/unnamed-2.jpg 500w, https:\/\/courses.lsa.umich.edu\/healthy-oceans\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2020\/04\/unnamed-2-300x300.jpg 300w, https:\/\/courses.lsa.umich.edu\/healthy-oceans\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2020\/04\/unnamed-2-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/courses.lsa.umich.edu\/healthy-oceans\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2020\/04\/unnamed-2-200x200.jpg 200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 265px) 100vw, 265px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2><\/h2>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: center\"><strong>Alternative Options to Eel<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p style=\"text-align: center\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">When looking to eat sushi with eel, instead look for alternatives like sushi with sustainably fished seafood or vegetables. If you do want to eat eel, make sure you are purchasing American eel raised in fyke nets in Northwest Atlantic oceans and North American inland water because this is the most sustainable option! You can find this out by looking on the restaurant menu, if you are not sure ask your server. At the grocery store, if the packaging is not labeled, ask the fishmonger to be sure you are purchasing sustainable seafood! <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Make sure to look for sustainable seafood labels.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" wp-image-691 alignleft\" src=\"https:\/\/courses.lsa.umich.edu\/healthy-oceans\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2020\/04\/unnamed-12-300x194.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"437\" height=\"282\" srcset=\"https:\/\/courses.lsa.umich.edu\/healthy-oceans\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2020\/04\/unnamed-12-300x194.png 300w, https:\/\/courses.lsa.umich.edu\/healthy-oceans\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2020\/04\/unnamed-12.png 512w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 437px) 100vw, 437px\" \/> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" wp-image-692 alignright\" src=\"https:\/\/courses.lsa.umich.edu\/healthy-oceans\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2020\/04\/unnamed-11-300x300.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"276\" height=\"276\" srcset=\"https:\/\/courses.lsa.umich.edu\/healthy-oceans\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2020\/04\/unnamed-11-300x300.png 300w, https:\/\/courses.lsa.umich.edu\/healthy-oceans\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2020\/04\/unnamed-11-150x150.png 150w, https:\/\/courses.lsa.umich.edu\/healthy-oceans\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2020\/04\/unnamed-11-200x200.png 200w, https:\/\/courses.lsa.umich.edu\/healthy-oceans\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2020\/04\/unnamed-11.png 512w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 276px) 100vw, 276px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: center\"><strong>An Alternative to Eel: Help your wallet and Try this Cheaper, Healthier Option!<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p style=\"text-align: center\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Eel sushi, and sushi in general, can also be quite expensive. To combat the cost of buying eel sushi while still getting your seafood fix, an alternative you can turn to is making your own poke bowls from home! Poke bowls are healthier, cheaper, and more filling options to still have seafood as a part of your diet and choose what you want in your meal!\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">By purchasing your own sustainable seafood using the Seafood Watch guide or finding a seafood label, you can put together an option that is better for the environment, cheaper, and just as satisfying! With hundreds of recipes online for making your own poke bowls at home, this option is quite feasible!<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-693 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/courses.lsa.umich.edu\/healthy-oceans\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2020\/04\/pasted-image-0-2-e1587412480424-251x300.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"251\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/courses.lsa.umich.edu\/healthy-oceans\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2020\/04\/pasted-image-0-2-e1587412480424-251x300.png 251w, https:\/\/courses.lsa.umich.edu\/healthy-oceans\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2020\/04\/pasted-image-0-2-e1587412480424.png 620w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 251px) 100vw, 251px\" \/><\/p>\n<h2><\/h2>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: center\"><strong>Sushi options around University of Michigan<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-711 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/courses.lsa.umich.edu\/healthy-oceans\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2020\/04\/SushiAnnArbor.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"1504\" height=\"731\" srcset=\"https:\/\/courses.lsa.umich.edu\/healthy-oceans\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2020\/04\/SushiAnnArbor.png 1504w, https:\/\/courses.lsa.umich.edu\/healthy-oceans\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2020\/04\/SushiAnnArbor-300x146.png 300w, https:\/\/courses.lsa.umich.edu\/healthy-oceans\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2020\/04\/SushiAnnArbor-1024x498.png 1024w, https:\/\/courses.lsa.umich.edu\/healthy-oceans\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2020\/04\/SushiAnnArbor-768x373.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1504px) 100vw, 1504px\" \/><\/p>\n<h2><\/h2>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: center\"><strong>The Future for Sustainable Eels in Ann Arbor<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p style=\"text-align: center\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Ann Arbor\u2019s restaurants that we called and spoke to <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">did not have any information <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">about the sustainability of the products that they were selling. Employees didn\u2019t even know what species of eel they were selling!\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">There needs to be laws in place that require restaurants to tell customers where they are getting their products from and how their seafood is caught in order for the customers to be informed when they are making decisions about buying and eating eels. This will allow customers to make sustainable seafood choices and be more aware of what they are eating.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><\/h2>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: center\"><strong>So, What Can YOU Do?\u00a0<\/strong><\/h2>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: center\"><strong>Show Your Support for Eel Conservation!<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Sign this <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">petition<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> (*not yet an active petition, we are working on creating one!) to tell our Ann Arbor city officials to require restaurants to keep an updated information sheet on all the seafood they buy. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-698 alignleft\" src=\"https:\/\/courses.lsa.umich.edu\/healthy-oceans\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2020\/04\/pasted-image-0-3-300x158.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"158\" srcset=\"https:\/\/courses.lsa.umich.edu\/healthy-oceans\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2020\/04\/pasted-image-0-3-300x158.png 300w, https:\/\/courses.lsa.umich.edu\/healthy-oceans\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2020\/04\/pasted-image-0-3-1024x538.png 1024w, https:\/\/courses.lsa.umich.edu\/healthy-oceans\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2020\/04\/pasted-image-0-3-768x403.png 768w, https:\/\/courses.lsa.umich.edu\/healthy-oceans\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2020\/04\/pasted-image-0-3.png 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Sign this <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">petition<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> (*not yet an active petition, we are working on creating one!) to tell our Ann Arbor city officials to require restaurants to keep an updated information sheet on all the seafood they buy.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h4 style=\"text-align: center\"><strong>The next step for University of Michigan students is to take action and sign petitions that will mandate all restaurants to disclose whether products are sustainably fished or not and to make sure, when they do eat seafood, that the products they are eating were raised sustainability.<\/strong><\/h4>\n<h4 style=\"text-align: center\"><strong>By doing so, University of Michigan students can help save aquatic animals \u00a0and continue to support fishers that are keeping marine ecosystems balanced and thriving for generations to come.<\/strong><\/h4>\n<h4 style=\"text-align: center\"><strong>GO BLUE!!<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-702 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/courses.lsa.umich.edu\/healthy-oceans\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2020\/04\/uofm-300x169.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"169\" srcset=\"https:\/\/courses.lsa.umich.edu\/healthy-oceans\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2020\/04\/uofm-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/courses.lsa.umich.edu\/healthy-oceans\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2020\/04\/uofm-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/courses.lsa.umich.edu\/healthy-oceans\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2020\/04\/uofm-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/courses.lsa.umich.edu\/healthy-oceans\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2020\/04\/uofm-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/courses.lsa.umich.edu\/healthy-oceans\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2020\/04\/uofm-350x197.jpg 350w, https:\/\/courses.lsa.umich.edu\/healthy-oceans\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2020\/04\/uofm-860x484.jpg 860w, https:\/\/courses.lsa.umich.edu\/healthy-oceans\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2020\/04\/uofm.jpg 1600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Eels play a very important role in aquatic ecosystems, as they help regulate the populations of other animals, and eels themselves are important prey for other species. Eels are in crisis because of several reasons, some being man made structures, illegal fishing, and commercial fishing.\u00a0 Our goal is to teach people about why eels are <a class=\"more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/courses.lsa.umich.edu\/healthy-oceans\/freshwater-eels-are-endangered\/\">Read More &#8230;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1038,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-643","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.lsa.umich.edu\/healthy-oceans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/643","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.lsa.umich.edu\/healthy-oceans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.lsa.umich.edu\/healthy-oceans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/courses.lsa.umich.edu\/healthy-oceans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1038"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/courses.lsa.umich.edu\/healthy-oceans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=643"}],"version-history":[{"count":16,"href":"https:\/\/courses.lsa.umich.edu\/healthy-oceans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/643\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":753,"href":"https:\/\/courses.lsa.umich.edu\/healthy-oceans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/643\/revisions\/753"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.lsa.umich.edu\/healthy-oceans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=643"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}