EU Regulation 1100/2007 establishes the obligation to reserve 60% of catches for restocking in Europe from glass eels caught exclusively in the natural environment, since the artificial reproduction of European eels has not yet been achieved. This is why France has chosen to define a global quota established by a scientific committee that is independent of administrative bodies and professional and recreational fishing structures. That quota is split in two sub-quotas: consumption and restocking. It is the only member state in the EU that has opted for this management method.

The French glass eel fishery is the largest in Europe: 80% of the 60 tonnes declared by the producer countries on average over the last 5 years (according to WGEEL 2022). It is therefore the mainstay of the European restocking plan for the quantity and quality of its products.

The French contribution is far from negligible on a European scale, since the French share reaches almost 60% for the glass eel stage (in a context of decreasing glass eel releases at European level) and a little more than 45% for the silver eel stage (individuals coming only from the fishing industry) of the total releases. France does not release individuals at the yellow eel stage, most of which come from the aquaculture sector in Europe (theoretically produced from the glass eel restocking quota).