Agency bans eel fishing in bid to halt decline in numbers

EELS in Lincolnshire waterways are in such dire straits a close season is being imposed on anglers to protect them.

It will be illegal to try to catch eels from tomorrow. The slippery creatures are currently migrating out to the coast on their way to the Sargasso Sea to spawn.

The move comes after the number of young eels – called elvers – in rivers dropped by 70 per cent in recent years.

Roger Handford, a regional fisheries strategic specialist at the Environment Agency, said: "We have seen the numbers of eels in our rivers fall over the last few decades and it is vital that we act now to reverse the decline and ensure there are healthy populations in the future.


"As well as our own planned bailiff activities, if members of the public observe illegal nets in a river, we would encourage them to contact the agency's emergency line with this information."

The issue has become so concerning, the European Commission has told all member states they are required to take immediate steps to protect eels and halt their decline.

So starting in October, fisheries enforcement staff will be out searching for illegal nets and other eel catching equipment, with any found being confiscated and their owners liable to prosecution.

The Environment Agency is also working on new laws to cap the number of eels allowed to be caught and anglers who catch eels by rod and line already have to return them.

More than 50 "elver passes" have been installed in the region to make it easier for the creatures to move along waterways.

Mark Marsland, owner of the Castaway Tackle fishing supply store in Lincoln, said it was good to see something being done.

"I think it's a blinding example of man's over-harvesting of the environment, be that plant or animal," he said.

"At the end of the day we take more than we need and it has an impact on the environment and ultimately us.

"If eel stocks are very low then something needs to be done about it and thankfully the Environment Agency are doing something."

Call the agency on 0800 807060