How common are eels in UK rivers?

[drypulse]

Hi all, was sat by a river in Hampshire, about 30 miles from the sea, when low and behold I spot not 1 but 2 eels, about 30cm across searching in the stones and mud below me. I have never seen an eel in my life before, was just wondering, how common are they?

Will try and get some photos next time I am out if they are of interest to anyone!

[yorkieuk]

Originally Posted by drypulse

Hi all, was sat by a river in Hampshire, about 30 miles from the sea, when low and behold I spot not 1 but 2 eels, about 30cm across searching in the stones and mud below me. I have never seen an eel in my life before, was just wondering, how common are they?

Will try and get some photos next time I am out if they are of interest to anyone!

Eels arnt as common as they used to be. Their population has dropped by around 95-99%, there are a lot on factors contributing to this. However one prominant problem is the parasite anguilla cola crassus. It infects the swim bladder on the eel and they cant complete there migration to spawn

[nightshade]

Eels were the bane of my life as a boy fisherman, if you hooked one and took it out of the water it would u-bend its body until it touched the line then wind itself and the line into a slimey ball, yeuch!
There were ancient Eel traps on most rivers but as usual it became very commercialised many tons being caught and exported either live or as smoked Eel. a change in the Gulfstream apparently led to a decline in numbers reaching this country on their return from the breeding ground of the Sargasso sea.
We did catch them to eat by sinking a hessian sack with a loosely gathered neck baited with lob worms. I used to see herons "dancing" in long meadow grass as they pursued and ate migrating Eels when they crossed fields to the next waterway. There is still a Jellied Eel shop in Greenwich London.
Elver fishing on the Severn is another instance of overfishing of returning baby Eels being overfished by legal and illegal means

[shenk1]

Not as common as they were , thats why they are doing things like this.

BBC News - Thousands of eels released in Dearne Valley washlands

[Ferret]

Eels or lampreys, just a thought.

Ferret

[Jim Ford]

Originally Posted by drypulse

Hi all, was sat by a river in Hampshire, about 30 miles from the sea, when low and behold I spot not 1 but 2 eels, about 30cm across searching in the stones and mud below me. I have never seen an eel in my life before, was just wondering, how common are they?

Is it possible that they were lampreys and not eels?

Jim

P.S. - just seen that 'Ferret' beat me to it by 1min!

[triops]

Please try to get a picture! It would be very interesting if they are Lamprey, a rare animal.

[tom00_uk]

only time i have seen eels in any number is when collecting samples from power station cooling water intake screens,

there are a lot of man made blockages on their migration routes that add to the list of issues affecting them

[faz]

when I worked in a zoo we had a stream flowing right through it in the exotic part of the birds which included herons etc we had to every day clear the GRILLS which were there to stop the birds escaping and every day I catch a handful of Eels move them round the grill let them on there way first time I saw one what the hell is this then realized picked one up which is not easy let it go

[drypulse]

Thanks for your repsonses, sad to see such a decline in their number, if indeed it is an eel, I will do my best to get a photos this week, if I can dig out my polarizing lense!