Elver fishing banned to protect species from extinction
ELVER fishing has been banned in England until February next year to stop the species' extinction.
The Environment Agency said anyone caught breaking the law could be slapped with a 50,000 fine.
Baby eels, or elvers, are cooked up to create a traditional seaside delicacy and fetch high prices.
But the number of eels entering European rivers crashed by up to 95 percent in recent decades - the lowest since records began.
Their decline is thought to be caused by factors including fishing and changes to the habitats adult eels depend on to migrate to and from sea.
Survival may also be affected by changes in ocean currents and temperatures possibly linked to climate change.
The Environment Agency has tried to boost eel populations in Sussex by making migration through rivers and wetlands easier.
Its experts installed 45 fish passes, designed to allow eels to navigate past structures such as weirs and locks.
They have also been patrolling to stop poachers and creating good quality eel habitats.
Environment Agency fisheries technical specialist, Sally Chadwick, said: "Given the critical state of our eel stocks we have had no choice but to introduce a close season on fishing for elvers from now until 14 February next year.
"If eel population numbers don't improve soon we could reach a critical point of no return and face the end of this species living in our waters and possibly global extinction."
Eels start as larvae at sea, drifting on the mid Atlantic currents until they reach the coast and grow into elvers.
They then enter estuaries and migrate upstream to mature in rivers, lakes, ponds and wetlands for between five and 50 years before migrating downstream to the sea to bread.
Regulation 10 of the Marine and Coastal Access Act 2009 now makes it an offence to fish for juvenile eels (or elvers) between 26 May 2010 and 14 February, 2011.
They are important to the diet of several other rare and protected species, such as otters and bittern.
Eels are listed as endangered by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species.
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Saturday 04 February 2012
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