Politicians have questioned the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment about the possibility of farming longfin eels.
Dr Jan Wright appeared before the Local Government and Environment select committee on Thursday about her report into the status of the species, released in April, which called for a moratorium on fishing of longfin eels to prevent them from extinction.
Dr Wright said early work is being done in Warkworth on farming eels from eggs, which she supports.
She said farming eels from eggs would take the pressure of both long and short fin eels, and could create jobs and increase export.
Dr Wright said this was not included in the report because she does not recommend types of funded research.
