VISUANG – Interactive tool for visualising data and supporting European eel management across the SUDOE region

What is VISUANG?

VISUANG is an interactive platform that helps users explore and interpret complex data relating to the conservation and management of the European eel through intuitive maps, charts, tables and interactive summaries. Its objective is to make scientific and technical information more accessible, supporting evidence-based decision-making for the sustainable management of the species and its river ecosystems.

The database has been strengthened through harmonised surveys carried out using common protocols across 10 pilot river basins representing a wide range of Atlantic and Mediterranean ecosystems:

Nivelle, Oria, Nalón, Ulla, Miño, Mondego, Guadalquivir, Guadiaro, Ter and Bages-Sigean.

Together, these catchments represent a broad diversity of environmental conditions across the SUDOE region.

What challenge does it address?

• The difficulty of accessing and interpreting large volumes of ecological and fisheries data on the European eel.
• The need for visual tools that support rapid decision-making in river basin and fisheries management.
• Limited integration of biological data, human pressures and migration barriers.
• The complexity of identifying which obstacles and pressures have the greatest impact on eel populations.

How does it work?

VISUANG organises and presents information through an interactive interface that allows users to analyse key management indicators, including:

• Estimates of silver eel escapement to the sea.
• Estimates of glass eel recruitment into river systems.
• Recommended fishing exploitation rates to support sustainable management.
• Estimates of turbine-induced mortality, helping prioritise mitigation measures at the infrastructures with the greatest impact.
• An atlas of migration barriers and eel abundance, enabling users to:
  • Identify the barriers that most restrict eel migration.
  • Visualise the potential increase in accessible habitat if specific barriers were removed.

The integrated visualisation of these datasets makes it possible to analyse environmental pressures, population status and restoration opportunities within a single platform.

Key benefits

• Translates complex scientific results into accessible visual information.
• Supports decision-making in fisheries management, river restoration and environmental planning.
• Helps prioritise actions on migration barriers and other sources of mortality.
• Integrates biological and river connectivity information within a single decision-support tool.
• Designed for fisheries managers, public authorities, environmental practitioners and river basin managers.

VISUANG was developed through the SUDOANG project under the Interreg Sudoe 2014–2020 programme, co-funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and aligned with European objectives for environmental sustainability and the efficient use of natural resources.

For AZTI, the platform also received co-funding from the Basque Government’s Directorate of Fisheries and the Provincial Council of Gipuzkoa.

VISUANG has been designed as a practical decision-support tool, enabling faster, evidence-based responses to the challenges involved in conserving and restoring European eel populations across the SUDOE region.