The Environment Agency is making life a little easier for the Mersey’s eel population. To help them migrate further upstream a new ladder is being installed so they can scale Woolston Weir, Warrington.
In the last 30 years the European Eel population has dramatically declined and the number of elvers migrating into European rivers has fallen to less than 5% of 1980s levels. This decline has put the European Eel on the endangered species list and made it the subject of new European legislation to protect them and aid their recovery.
Ben Bayliss, Environment Agency Project Manager, said:
“The causes of the drastic decline in European eel numbers is still being investigated, but we hope by making it easier for the elvers to get up and downstream it will improve their breeding prospects and so give a boost to their numbers.
Our rivers are the healthiest for 20 years. By installing this eel pass we are fulfilling our commitment to further improve water quality and biodiversity.”
To assess if removing barriers to migrating eels is effective the Environment Agency will install monitoring equipment that will include a holding tank where eels can be counted and checked, alongside a webcam and telemetry systems to monitor the level and flow speeds of the river.
