In 2002/2003 Dana Feed Research Center hosted a research project on artifical reproduction of European Eel. At the DANA FEED Research Center artificial fertilization was successful. Although larvae were successfully hatched, they only stayed alive for a sort time.
Although this research project is no longer carried out at the Dana Feed Research Center, Dana Feed is still involved in the project, which has been further developed by The Danish Institue for Fisheries Research (DIFRES).
DIFRES has recently achieved a world first by keeping European eel larvae alive for five days. The research team is also the first to repeatedly achieve mass hatchings of this species in the laboratory. This represents a breakthrough as it has proven extremely difficult to achieve hatching of the European eel in captivity. In the long run, the aim of this project is to make it possible to deliver reared eel fry both to aquaculture and to help the threatened eel stock.
