Where have all the elvers gone

[coasty]

I have been around the same stretch of coastal stream for nearly 50 years and have seen elver runs every year. Years ago in huge numbers over the recent years numbers have declined but have still been there. This year despite been along the river regularly I have seen no elver run at all. This worries me greatly and wondered what other peoples observations were . They are an amazing creature with a fascinating life story to lose them is tragic.

[Stewy]

Dunno but theres an old thread here that might be useful.

English Eels

[Lance Morgan]

I would say overfishing and pollution are the main reasons we don't see so many now. I rememeber as a boy a beck that ran through my village would be absolutely teeming with eels.

[The Black Rabbit]

Thought this thread title was the start of a song!

[Scarlet Pimpernel]

I have to agree with you here, I have nowhere near the experience of your knowledge of your particular river but the same has happened here. I do not think it is a pollution problem this time however as Eel's are known for their resiliance. I think over fishing on adults at sea is the main problem. As a young lad we used to catch 1/2lb eels everytime we went fishing on the river now they are never caught....only a handful each year.

I also think that some of the eel's could be dare I say it 'getting lazy' with all the food they can eat in ponds and other fisheries these days I don't think as many are returning to the Sargasso full stop. Pehaps a reduced number of 'sea worthy adults' could also be a problem....

Cheers Jacob

[Muggsy]

I heard something about the eel decline a few days ago.
I'm sure, almost, its an age thing, that eels are dying because of a virus brought over from the far east in imported eels for the table. Unsold eels were released into the Thames and whamo

[mh68]

Not sure how accurate it is, but while searching for info on the decline of freshwater eels here in the uk, it was claimed that current numbers are at 1% of 1980 levels.Thats over the whole of Europe, not just the UK.Very disturbing.
Suggested reasons for decline include -

climate change
an eel parasite (anguillicloa crassus)
more restricted access to rivers (barrages etc)
accumulation of toxins from pesticides and metals that could affect breeding
commercial exploitation

Mark H

[coasty]

Originally Posted by The Black Rabbit

Thought this thread title was the start of a song!

You hum it Ill murder it,,, But seriousley things like this go un noticed by everyone, Because eels arent furry and cuddly no one gives a oeoeoeoeoeoe, but one word about culling Badgers or hunting foxes and the balloon gos up...and for me these are even more important as they are indicator of the worlds eco system,,,

[Muggsy]

Anguillicola crassus is a parasitic nematode worm that lives in the swimbladders of eels (Anguilla spp.) and appears to spread easily among eel populations after introduction to a body of water. It is considered to be one of the threats to the sustainability of populations of European eel (Anguilla anguilla). It was introduced to the European continent in the 1980s, where it was reported independently from Germany and Italy in 1982, having probably been introduced from Japan. It is thought to have reached England in 1987 from continental Europe. It is a natural parasite of the Japanese eel in its native range.

I got the far east bit right, info from good old wikipidea

[mh68]

Originally Posted by coasty

You hum it Ill murder it,,, But seriousley things like this go un noticed by everyone, Because eels arent furry and cuddly no one gives a oeoeoeoeoeoe, but one word about culling Badgers or hunting foxes and the balloon gos up...and for me these are even more important as they are indicator of the worlds eco system,,,

Its a fact. A lot of the time only those with a vested interest in underwater life eg anglers, notice these trends. The decline of eels in relation to Otters for example (their preferred prey given the choice)has caused more predation on other species, such as large Carp, giving the Otters bad press.

Mark H

[fisherontheriver]

I remember as a child fishing my local river and catching alot of eels. Some quiet big 2-3 lbs. the large pools of the river held a lot of them often catching and returning10 – 20 in a day.
A recent return trip with my daughters I was hoping to catch 1 or 2 so they could see one first hand but alas nothing to be seen. Another creature my daughters may never see in the wild?
Discussing it with a local friend who fishes the river regularly he says he has not caught one in several years. So it looks like they have gone completely from this river system.
As to the how’s and why’s of there decline in this river I have no idea.

[Putnamsmif]

The single biggest reason for the massive decline in the Eel population is as usual us, by which I mean mankind. Over-fishing has decimated the elver run. Can I suggest if you are interested Tom Fort's excellent book The Eel. In it he describes the astronomical numbers of elvers taken from rivers both in the UK and Europe by commercial fishermen. Thousands of tons a year, and when you consider how many elvers it takes to make up a ton you get a fair idea that it can't have been too good for the species! Well, any normal person would, but obviously the fishermen themselves and the scientists investigating these things didn't have a clue for some strange reason, and now it's too late as with so many other species.

[mh68]

Absolutely. On top of this, you have angling clubs etc who control bodies of water, allowing Eel netsmen onto them to decimate populations due to the Eels unpopularity in angling terms.It all adds up and the results are catastrophic.

Mark H

[Putnamsmif]

Mmmm, as a very keen angler myself, I have to say I've not heard of any club I've been affiliated with allowing anyone to net for Eels, but that's not to say it doesn't happen. I think most anglers would be disgusted with netting a particular type of fish just so you can catch other types more often. What I love about angling is the contact with nature, whatever that nature may be. I've seen an Otter twice, both times when fishing, and to me it was a wonderful site and one that I probably wouldn't have been privileged to see if I hadn't been fishing at the time. However I acknowledge that there are anglers out there who think that the resurgance of the Otter is a bad thing, and even anglers who think Otters should be killed because they eat fish. To me and all my angling friends that idea is abhorrent. The sight of an Otter to me is evidence of a healthy eco-system, and that can only be good for the river, the Otters, and of course the fish. It's just a shame man's wanton disregard for nature in search of profits means a unique and fascinating species like the Eel is almost certainly doomed to extinction.

[mh68]

I was speaking more from a local standpoint, apologies for not wording it better.Didnt intend to paint a bad picture of all angling bodies.

Mark H

[coasty]

How can I put this ,,I think you are misinformed, I fish all over Britain on tidal waters and dont know of any Angling assoc that allow elver netting....The license to net elvers is I beleive seperate from the fishing rights and not controlled by Angling associations. As for Angling clubs that control waters with adult populations, The eels are offered the same status as all other coarse fish.

[mh68]

Hi Coasty, its a few years now since I stopped fishing so the situation may have changed a bit.But I can assure you some waters in my area used to allow Eel netsmen onto their waters. I`ve spoken to a few of them(the netsmen), and when I was involved in running a local angling group was approached by a few,enquiring if we controlled any waters and whether they would be allowed to set traps on them.I`m talking about stillwaters, not rivers so the removal mainly concerned more mature Eels.
We often came across Eel traps on Scottish Lochs (which were to all intents and purposes a free for all as far as fishing was concerned)and knew of a regular eel trapper on Loch Lomond when we used to fish there.
One popular SW Scottish loch allowed eel trapping annually,as the eels were considered a pest for anglers chasing other species and they were happy to see the numbers reduced.Not sure of the situation now but i think it was stopped in line with current concerns regarding the drop in eel numbers.
Luckily the majority of waters did indeed(and still do) offer Eels the same amount of protection as other freshwater species.Even more important when taking into account the extremely slow growth rate of eels.
Also, dredgers working the Tyne in the tidal reaches would often deposit silt piles seething with elvers on the banks, while many will have made it back into the water, its safe to assume others didnt.They were also left wide open to predation while trying to return to the water.
Another factor is the amount of eels which are needlessly killed by anglers just because they dont like them,many just chucked up the bank.Then you have the popularity of eels as bait for pike, tope,zander etc and the commercial sale of eels for bait.

Mark H

[The Black Rabbit]

Originally Posted by coasty

You hum it Ill murder it,,, But seriousley things like this go un noticed by everyone, Because eels arent furry and cuddly no one gives a oeoeoeoeoeoe, but one word about culling Badgers or hunting foxes and the balloon gos up...and for me these are even more important as they are indicator of the worlds eco system,,,

Yes Coasty - I absolutely agree. Was having a heated discussion about that not so long ago. I admit, I know very little about elvers, (in comparison with Badgers etc...) and am reading this thread with a great deal of interest (and newborn thought).

Permit me a little light heartedness again though, (one last time)!

We had an "Elvers impersonator" down the pub the other day - (wasn't much good though).

Thats it.
I profusely apologise.

Doug.

[coasty]

We had an "Elvers impersonator" down the pub the other day - (wasn't much good though).

Thats it.
I profusely apologise.

Doug.

[/quote]

Its ok Doug theres a guy down at our local Chip Shop who swears hes Elvis....

Seriousley though OK allowing for some still waters getting netted for eels and rivers been netted for elvers, Incidently ours never has, This does not explain the catastrophic decline in the population the local rivers were so full of these 20+ years ago they were called the Yorkshire curse, and given they have a long life span something is going very wrong somewhere.

Andy

[C C]

A few years back i took an OU short course...Life in the Oceans-Exploring our Blue Planet. It was based on the David Attenborough series, the Blue Planet.

It had a section about the state of the Fishing industry. I have tried to dig it out,for it had a good article on Eels. I can remember the finger was being pointed toward Japanese fishing boats.

I think they were catching them leaving/going to their breeding grounds. I am not sure though, i will have to find the course work again.

I tell you the course opened my eyes. After which, the only fish i eat, is what i have caught myself.

[mh68]

Its ok Doug theres a guy down at our local Chip Shop who swears hes Elvis....

Seriousley though OK allowing for some still waters getting netted for eels and rivers been netted for elvers, Incidently ours never has, This does not explain the catastrophic decline in the population the local rivers were so full of these 20+ years ago they were called the Yorkshire curse, and given they have a long life span something is going very wrong somewhere.

Andy[/quote]

Youre right of course Andy, but all these things do add up and must have an overall negative effect,although as you rightly say theyre not THE problem.I think C C is on the right lines.

Mark H

[Putnamsmif]

No offence but I don't think the Japanese fishing for adult eels has made that much difference. Elvers were caught and then grown to adult size for the Japanese market, but there was also a huge demand for glass eel in Europe, and I don't think anyone appreciates the numbers of these young eels that were taken. After their frankly miraculous journey of several thousand miles across the ocean from where all European eels are spawned in the Sargasso sea, which incidentally takes them between 2 and 3 years, they were met with fishing on this scale according to Tom Fort who I have no reason to doubt; on the river Loire in 1976, 800 tons of elver were captured. He estimates it takes between 3500 and 5000 individuals to make up a single kilogram. This equates apparently (my maths isn't that good) to approximately 3 BILLION!! Yes that's 3 BILLION! I'll say that again because it seems incredulous- 3 BILLION. And lets not forget that that is from a single river in a single year, fishing on this scale was going on all over Europe.

[Rob T]

It was anounced today that £20,000 was required to rebuild the South,s last ever eel house built 200 years ago which has partialy colapsed into the local river at Alresford in Hampshire . . . . so I guess you could say Elvers has just left the building.

sorry Rob

[coasty]

Originally Posted by [QUOTE

Rob T;198343]It was anounced today that £20,000 was required to rebuild the South,s last ever eel house built 200 years ago which has partialy colapsed into the local river at Alresford in Hampshire . . . . so I guess you could say Elvers has just left the building.

sorry Rob[/quote]


: Class: Are you sure you are all taking this post seriousley

[C C]

It is interesting to see, that the American eel is also in decline. They also breed in the Sargasso.