More than 100 juvenile eels travelled 3,000km from the
Sargasso Sea before being counted at the Environment
Agency’s Brownshill Staunch eel pass, downstream of St
Ives.
European eels are a critically endangered species and the
Environment Agency leads on eel conservation in England.
This involves building and installing eel passes which
improves access to habitat.
The Environment Agency also protects eels from illegal
fishing, abstraction and works with partners to reduce the
impacts of the industries it regulates.
Young elvers travel from the sea to freshwater where they
grow and thrive. Eels spend up to 50 years maturing in
freshwater, eventually returning back to the Sargasso to
spawn.
As the eels migrate they go through Environment Agency eel
passes so officers can count and monitor them. Eel passes
are checked weekly from May to September.
Kye Jerrom, Environment Agency fisheries specialist in East
Anglia, said: “The elver migration is essential for eels to
complete their lifecycle.
“Barriers in freshwater like locks, sluices and mills can
slow down their movements restricting the amount of river
habitat eels have access to.
“Eel passes provide a way around or over these structures
and also equip us with a great opportunity to count and
monitor them.
“We check our eels passes weekly from May to September and
the data we collect is essential in shaping future work and
conservation efforts.
“We are thrilled to see the first hundred eels at the pass
and expect thousands more by the end of summer.”
