Eels are in decline – have your say on new eel and elver fishing regulations

ENVIRONMENT AGENCY NEWS RELEASE
Something is happening to our eels. Having hatched thousands of miles away in the mid-Atlantic, young eels, or elvers as they are known, used to swim up our rivers in huge shoals, so dense they could turn the margins black.
 
But something is interfering with their lifecycle. The number of elvers entering European rivers has crashed by over 95 percent in recent decades and this year’s monitoring suggests the decline remains unabated. The pattern and magnitude of the collapse is consistent across Europe. Eels are still present in our waterways, but if elver runs don’t improve soon, the long-term future of eels in the UK is bleak.
 
So worried is the Environment Agency about the declining numbers of elvers returning to our shores from the Atlantic, it is considering introducing tighter restrictions on fishing for mature eels as well as elvers. This is just one of a host of measures the Agency is taking as part of a Europe wide recovery plan intended to reverse the decline. These include habitat enhancements and opening up more areas to eel migration, which the Environment Agency believes is the best chance of aiding the species’ recovery.
 
Before introducing any new measures to restrict eel fishing, the Environment Agency is seeking the views of anyone with an interest in eels as part of a public consultation on the proposed new measures.
These include –
 
  • introducing elver and adult eel close fishing seasons, and possible close season dates;
  • limiting adult eel fisheries to current locations, preventing them from expanding;
  • improving the quality of catch returns from eel and elver net fishers;
  • prohibiting net fishing at locations where elvers are particularly vulnerable;
  • specifying more precisely what fishing equipment and methods can be used to catch elvers;
  • banning trawling for eel and elver.
 
Heidi Stone, Fisheries Policy Manager with the Environment Agency, said: “The cause of the decline across Europe is unknown, but it is unlikely to be a single factor. The lakes, ponds and wetlands that adult eels depend on to grow and mature have changed in recent decades, with many being drained and lost to agriculture and urban development. The rivers that are so vital for their migration to and from the sea have many more obstacles, in the shape of weirs, barrages, and water intakes and outfalls. Fishing for elvers and eels may also have an impact, though the severity may vary from one country and another. And then there is the one factor that is common to all eel – the time they spend at sea, where survival may be affected by changes in ocean currents and temperatures which may be linked to climate change.”
 
“We need to review our regulations to make sure fisheries do not expand. Given the critical state of our eel stocks, we want as many anglers, net fishers and others with an interest in eel fisheries and conservation to take part in this important work”
 
Anyone can take part in this consultation. Details of these proposals can be downloaded from our website at www.environment-agency.gov.uk/research/library/consultations/108465.aspx and responses can be made online. The consultation will run for 12 weeks, closing on 7 September 2009.

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