25 Jun 2024

By Guglielmo Sonnino Sorisio, PhD Candidate in Ecohydraulics, Cardiff University and Catherine Wilson, Professor in Environmental Hydraulics, Cardiff University. The European eel Anguilla anguilla, a sleek, snake-like fish with a fascinating life cycle, once teemed in rivers. But their numbers have plummeted by over 95% since the 1980s. Behind this dramatic decline is a combination of threats, including […]

29 Aug 2023

A DNA sampling project seeking to gather information on eel numbers in the Somerset Levels has found the fish absent from large parts of the area, with man-made barriers likely to be a large part of the problem, ENDSreport wrote. Eel experts say they are shocked to find no evidence of the animal in the […]

10 Apr 2023

DNA testing has confirmed widespread – and probably illegal – international trading of critically endangered European eels. A research team led by the University of Exeter carried out “DNA barcoding” on products including jellied eels and unagi, which is used in sushi and donburi. With European eel populations at about 5-10% of their former levels, the EU […]

15 Dec 2022

The Environment Agency (EA) is celebrating a successful year for its eel passes on the River Great Ouse. It was revealed that over 70,000 eels had made the journey to Cambridgeshire from the Sargasso Sea in the North Atlantic – a journey of over 3,000 miles. The European Eel is a critically endangered species which […]

18 Oct 2022

Adult European Eels tracked to the Sargasso Sea for the first time, unravelling a mystery that has perplexed scientists for centuries.     Scientists have unravelled a mystery surrounding one of nature’s most incredible journeys. The journey of European eels to their breeding place in the Sargasso Sea is up to 10,000km and has long […]

05 May 2020

From the Guardian, 20 April This is the peak season for the arrival of what is hoped will be millions of glass eels swimming up Britain’s estuaries to reach fresh waters where they can grow into adults. The European eel (Anguilla anguilla) is a curious creature with a complex lifestyle that is still barely understood. […]

12 Feb 2020

A seafood salesman has been convicted of smuggling an estimated 5.3 million critically endangered baby eels from Spain to East Asia via the UK over a two year period, in what is thought to be the first prosecution of its kind in the UK. Gilbert Khoo, 67, from Parbury Rise, Chessington, was today found guilty […]