Since the late 1970s, the European eel has seen its population decline sharply throughout its range. Classified on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species and in Appendix II of CITES, the species is struggling to recover despite the introduction of a Europe-wide management plan (Eel Regulation 1100/2007), as a result of insufficient consideration of all the pressure factors affecting the species and its functional habitats. In the context of climate change, which will be marked by an increasing scarcity of water resources, how will the future of this species affect interests considered to be priorities: agriculture, drinking water needs, tourism? To preserve this species in a non-residual state, we need to put in place a management and restoration policy for the species and its habitats that makes better use of the knowledge and know-how of the communities that live off its exploitation. Concrete examples show the contribution of professional fishing communities at local and regional levels in assessing eel populations, evaluating the impact of predator species and in transferring eel populations at different stages of their development. This participatory dynamic of local and regional professional fishing communities is similar to the Sato-umi concept in Japan, which aims to reconnect human communities with Nature with a view to sustainable exploitation, restoration and conservation of the goods and services provided.