The move, by the Environment Agency, means that more eels stand a chance of completing the freshwater stage of their lifecycle. Four eel passes have been installed between St Ives and Houghton where river structures which prevented the creatures moving upstream were identified as having “high priority” for improvement. James Dyke, Environment Agency fisheries officer, said: “Getting past structures, such as St Ives sluice, is key for the survival of the eels and will make a real difference to their ability to travel further upstream to complete their lifecycle. Eels were listed as being “critically endangered” in 2007 after their numbers fell off dramatically and regulations now say passes should be installed so their migration is not blocked by river structures.
‘Cambsexile’, a poster on Cambridge News said:
Eels are critically endangered yet what happens? Otters are permitted to be reintroduced and what is the otter’s main food?? EELS!!!! What happens when there are not enough eels for the otters? They go on to other waters and kill the birds and other fish in such a way that the size of the prey doesn’t matter as the otter will only eat a very small amount of the prey. Nobody cares about the fish or wild birds as people seem to think that apex predators like otters are “cute and fluffy” yet in reality they are nothing of the sort!
