River work to help critically endangered eels

Luke Bryant on the left, next to a colleague from West Cumbria Rivers Trust. They are both wearing grey overalls, blue t-shirts, hi-viz vests and baseball caps. They are holding, buckets, nets and other fishing equipment. They are standing in a shallow stream, surrounded by greenery, with trees in the background.

Image caption,

Luke Bryant (left) said eels struggled to get up the weir when the river flow was low

ByEd HansonReporting fromin Longtown

Published6 minutes ago

A £50,000 project is under way to help critically endangered European eels move across a tricky stretch of river.

West Cumbria Rivers Trust is dismantling a redundant weir at Glinger Burn near Longtown to help the eel and other fish migrate up and down the river more easily.

The European eel has seen a 90% decline in the last 30 years, the environmental charity said, and risked injury while leaping up the weir when levels are low.

Assistant director Luke Bryant said: "Maybe in the winter when there's really heavy flow they can, but a lot of the time they'll struggle."

The conservation work, funded by the Environment Agency, will see diggers spend the next two weeks taking down the weir.

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Eel numbers have fallen by 90% in the last 30 years, according to West Cumbria Rivers Trust

The area will then be made more fish-friendly by building in natural steps that will increase habitats and allow the creatures to move up and down stream and spawn.

"We call them step pools and that will give us that balance of a healthy river with no more barriers," Bryant said.

This is the first of a number of projects the trust has planned over the summer to help species at risk.

The redundant weir at Glinger Burn, with a pier-like structure falling into the river. The water is brown and the banks are grassy and green.

Image caption,

The redundant weir at Glinger Burn is being dismantled to help eel and fish

Bryant said he hoped the work would help "right some wrongs" that affected not just eel numbers but also salmon and trout in rivers.

He said: "If we can fix even a small bit of river like this in one summer… and lots of other river trusts will be doing similar work, we'll have a much better chance that the species in this country can be more resilient."

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