1,000 eels to be released in Shropshire river

The eels will be released by the National Trust at Attingham Park, near Shrewsbury, tomorrow afternoon in an attempt to help the species recover following a steady decline in numbers over the past 20 years.

The project, run by the Severn Rivers Trust and Sustainable Eel group, has already seen about one million eels caught and released.

They hope that by releasing eels in more sustainable areas, where they can enter the river up- stream, their numbers will gradually increase.

Currently, man-made barriers are preventing eels from accessing certain parts of the river.

Staff at the National Trust-run Attingham Park have taken steps to try and increase eel numbers in recent years with a specially designed eel pass to try and help them go beyond the weir.

Barriers such as weirs have contributed towards a fall in the eel population, because they prevent eels from reaching crucial inland feeding grounds as part of their natural migration from the sea.

Bob Thurston, the countryside parks and gardens manager at Attingham Park, said that staff were thrilled to play their part in conservation efforts.

Mr Thurston said: "Eels have been on the decline for many years and it's fantastic to be able to help this effort to rescue a species that decades ago would have been a common sight in our rivers.

"It's a great opportunity to come and see the young eels, as they're semi-translucent and very tricky to spot out in the wild when they're this young, and we're hoping lots of visitors will enjoy this rare sight and come to wish the eels well on their journey."

The young glass eels will be released at 1.30pm and staff are eager for visitors to learn more about their life cycle.

Glass eels are so named because they are nearly translucent in appearance and were once abundant in Britain's waterways.

Their decline began in the 1980s with the number of glass eels in particular steadily declining with each passing decade.

The future is looking positive for the eel population though, with an increase of young eels arriving from the main spawning ground – the Sargasso sea.

This has given a boost to the depleted population with reports that the elver run is the best seen in 30 years.

Record numbers have returned to the River Severn in particular and project organisers are hopeful that the release is another positive step forward for eels.

Visitors are welcome to attend the release at 1.30pm tomorrow when staff will gather by the side of the River Tern near to the Regency mansion house.