As part of my summer canoe training, I spend many Monday evenings paddling up and down the River Wansbeck in Northumberland. The fact that European eel can be found in almost any aquatic habitat complicates the situation. Seasonal and tidal swamps are ideal for eel when feeding. A man-made wall providing refuges for eels (Photo credit ©Peter Walker). Not from behind the computer but in its natural habitat. Now known as elvers, they migrate upstream to a wide variety of freshwater and estuarine habitats. Young eels (known as 'Elvers') return to freshwater rivers to develop. Tom Fort, in his fascinating ‘The Book of Eels’, writes, “It is a creature of mystery, the freshwater eel, with few admirers and fewer friends.” He is not wrong. The European eel is a nocturnal predator, feeding on small animals equivalent to fish, arthropods, crustaceans and mollusks. Fewer than one in 500 eel larvae are thought to survive the long, hard journey from the Sargasso Sea to Europe. Safe havens during dry periods are obviously also important. As the eels become sexually mature they migrate to the sea, where they move to the spawning grounds in the Sargasso Sea. The European eel is a UK Biodiversity Action Plan priority fish species. The smallest species measure just a few inches long. Does this mean that a good habitat for eels is long thin tubular things? Aquatic plants, submerged root systems, woody debris, pier supports, undercut banks and channel substrates all provide physical structures that eels could use as refuges or ambush points. Registered office: Stanley House, 49 Dartford Road, Sevenoaks, Kent TN13 3TE. Online Magazine for Ecologists, Conservationists and Wildlife Professionals, one reported to survive in a Swedish well until it was over 155 years old. Research is ongoing but evidence to date suggests that featureless water bodies with little refuge for eels are poor quality habitat for this species and have relatively low population densities. Restricting rivers and coasts affects water and sediment flows, which can destroy wildlife habitat and reduce landscape value and diversity. Established in 1964, the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species has evolved to become the world’s most comprehensive information source on the global conservation status of animal, fungi and plant species. There are many reports of eels living much longer than this however, with one reported to survive in a Swedish well until it was over 155 years old. See a summary of offences in relation to protected fish. Yet eel numbers in Scotland are thought to have fallen drastically – by more than 90% – since the 1990s. During this time, the eggs hatch into leaf-shaped young larvae, called leptocephalus. The adult European eel (Anguilla anguilla) can reach lengths of 1.5 m, is silver in color, and has a long cylindrical body with small slits for gill openings. Both of these items had eels living in them, as they ended up wriggling around in the bottom of the canoe. Eels, it is fair to say, do not fall into the bracket of our best-loved creatures. The European eel is a critically endangered species. The Author using a bathyscope to look for submerged refuges for eels (Photo credit ©Peter Walker). Factors such as water velocity and depth appear to have some influence on eel presence, with evidence to support a preference by smaller eels (less than 300-mm total body length) for water velocities more than 0.1 m.s-1. This ubiquitous distribution has led to the belief among many that this species does not really need anything specific, except water, to survive. Adult eels do not le… silt) to burrow into. As eels mature, they undergo several physical and physiological changes to prepare themselves for a massive migratory journey out to sea and across the Atlantic. It’s no good giving improved access to habitat if the habitat is unsuitable for supporting high densities of eels. Recent work suggests polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) pollution may be a factor in the decline. Aquatic plants can provide good habitat for many aquatic animals including many species of fish. This regulation requires each European member state to establish national eel management plans that include measures to help increase the numbers of adult (silver) eels leaving inland waters to cross the Atlantic to spawn at the Sargasso Sea. Each Member State must establish its own national eel management plan. Dr. Peter Walker (Principal Aquatic Consultant, RSK), takes a closer look at the European Eel (Anguilla anguilla) – providing further detail on this illusive animal, and a focus on its decline….

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