Fisheries minister Gerda Verburg is to press ahead with a two-month ban on eel fishing this autumn and introduce a three-month ban in 2010, news agency ANP reports.

Verburg has set aside €700,000 to compensate the eel industry for the ban, which takes place during their busiest months.
The minister says the move is necessary to preserve stocks. The Worldwide Fund for Nature and other lobby groups have welcomed the ban. ‘Drastic measures are needed to save the eel,’ they said in a statement.