Other events in Baltic States

Researchers from the fish stock department of Latvia's Institute of Food Safety, Animal Health and Environment BIOR released around 700,000 glass eel fingerlings in lakes and rivers in Kurzeme Province for restocking yesterday, LETA was told at the institute.

BIOR representatives said that eels were released in lakes and rivers throughout the province.

According to the BIOR representatives, the eel fingerlings were caught in special fine mesh baskets in river estuaries of the United Kingdom where they had arrived from spawning grounds in the Sargasso Sea. The fingerlings that were released in Kurzeme's lakes and rivers were about seven centimeters long. UK company UK Glass Eels supplied the eels to BIOR for EUR 231,000, with the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF) covering 100 percent of the costs.

The eels were released to help maintain eel populations in Latvian lakes and rivers, which have become an endangered species in recent years. The eels in Latvia were released in waters where their migratory paths have less hurdles.