We all know the angling gnomes treat everything with contempt in their
desperate quest for canned angling. Where they think it's s****ting to
sit on the same spot for years on end throwing loaves of bread in to a
river in the hope the fish get to fat to struggle and outwit the
gnomes hook.
Eels are disappearing due to gnomes not habitat loss.
Bid to boost eel numbers in East
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/suffolk/7399974.stm
Two thousand elvers are to be released at a wildlife park in a bid to
address the decline of the species in the UK and the rest of Europe.
The Environment Agency and the RSPB are boosting the eel stocks at the
Minsmere reserve in Suffolk where the habitat is described as ideal
for eel development.
"It has shallow lakes with reed-beds, connection to rivers and no
commercial fi****ng," an agency spokeswoman said.
"Numbers of eels reaching maturity and migrating to spawn will
increase too."
The only known spawning ground for eels is the Sargasso Sea, south of
Bermuda.
The spokeswoman said: "Eel larvae follow the Gulf Stream and North
Atlantic Drift to return to Europe metamorphosing into glass eels when
they reach the continental shelf.
Long migration
"Glass eels are attracted to freshwater and enter UK rivers in the
spring, historically in great numbers.
"After an average of six years for males and nine years for females,
eels begin to mature, stop feeding and become silver in colouration.
"Silver eels swim downstream towards the sea to begin the long
migration of 5500km back to the Sargasso Sea, where they will spawn
and die."
Numbers have dropped dramatically in the past few years and are
thought to be about 5% of the numbers in the 1980s.
The Environment Agency has prepared an Eel Management Plan for East
Anglia to assess the status of eel stocks and actions needed to
improve survival and distribution of all life stages.
The objective is to increase the numbers of adult silver eels able to
migrate to the Sargasso Sea.
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/england/suffolk/7399974.stm
Published: 2008/05/14 07:58:16 GMT
