Two sets of information from the Angling Trust and the Environment Agency
1. Angling Trust: A petition of nearly 2,000 signatures calling for an end to the commercial exploitation of endangered baby eels was handed in to the Prime Minister at Number 10 Downing Street by the Golden Valley Fish and Wildlife Association with support from the Angling Trust and other fishery organisations.
The petition was launched in response to populations of the European eel, Anguilla anguilla, declining by 95% in recent decades. It called on Defra and the Environment Agency to stop licensing the commercial export of endangered eels, which are a delicacy in some parts of the world.
Eels are a vital part of river ecosystems, providing food for birds, other fish and animals such as otters. Scientists believe that eels are spawned in the Sargasso Sea in the Caribbean before migrating on ocean currents to Europe where they grow into adults in rivers and lakes. However, very little is known about their lifecycle and the cause of their population collapse. In that context, the campaigners believe that a precautionary approach should be adopted and all commercial exploitation should cease.
The Herefordshire Eel Project has been restocking eels to the River Dore from elvers raised in ponds to try and help restore populations in rivers which once ran thick with elvers before the population collapse. There has been a marked increase in eels captured in Environment Agency electrofishing surveys as a result of their efforts.
However, the volunteers involved in this project are frustrated that many tonnes of elvers are still being harvested for export. Although some of the eels are used for re-stocking, many are grown on for commercial gain. Click here to read more:
2. Eel and elver passes: design and build
Guidance for fish passes where existing obstructions prevent the safe passage of eel and elver travelling up stream. Documents include:
Eel and elver passes: manual for the design and implementation of passage solutions