PRESS RELEASE
Issued: 16 October 2012
ONE ‘EL’ OF A JOURNEY
Elvers – juvenile eels – are making an incredible journey that ends in London. In one the world’s
greatest known animal migrations, elvers enter the UK’s rivers every spring, having travelled over
7000 km in their journey from the Sargasso Sea to the European coast. Research shows that
elvers will be able to mature in their spiritual home in the East End’s River Lee.
The construction of special passes that allow elvers to move past river barriers that would
otherwise obstruct their upstream migration has been identified as one of the measures necessary
to contribute to the recovery of the Critically Endangered European eel.
The Canal & River Trust has made a number of improvements to the River Lee Navigation to
encourage the passage of elver and enhance their watery homes, as part of a series of works on
the waterways ahead of the Olympics. The Trust worked in partnership with the Environment
Agency to build passes at Lea Bridge Weir, Bow Locks and on the Three Mills channel. Funding
was secured by the Environment Agency to build the passes and the Canal & River Trust will
manage them into the future. The Trust separately installed elver passes at Three Mills Lock which
it hopes to include in future monitoring.
This work has given elvers a helping hand to pass the barriers separating the river from the tidal
Thames, leaving them free to migrate upstream. The elvers that make this journey will live for
many years in the river Lee, slowly maturing before returning to the Sargasso Sea to spawn.
Researchers from the Zoological Society of London (ZSL) have confirmed that elvers are using the
newly installed pass at Bow Locks to access the River Lee. Thirteen elvers were recorded this
year. With funding from the Esmee Fairbairn Foundation, ZSL has been working with volunteers
from Thames 21 to monitor the pass at Bow Locks for the migrating elvers. This monitoring
programme will be extended in 2013 to include the other elver passes in the Lee catchment.
The Lee was historically an industrial river and suffered from heavy pollution. The Trust is
committed to continual improvements to the Lee and has already put significant investment in to
recent works including installing two kilometres of reed beds, dredging the river and managing
invasive plants to improve water quality and habitat for all wildlife.
Canal & River Trust 1 Sheldon Square Paddington Central London W2 6TT
T 0207 985 7263 E press.office@canalrivertrust.org.uk W www.canalrivertrust.org.uk Twitter @CanalRiverTrust
Patron: H.R.H. The Prince of Wales. Canal & River Trust is a charitable company limited by guarantee, registered in England and Wales
with company number 7807276 and registered charity number 1146792, registered office address: First Floor North, Station House, 500
Elder Gate, Milton Keynes MK9 1BB
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Leela O’Dea, environment manager at the Canal & River Trust, says: “Confirmation that elvers are
migrating into the River Lee is extremely exciting. The Canal & River Trust has really invested in
transforming the Lee from a heavily polluted waterway into the important wildlife habitat it is today,
and having elver in the river really is the icing on the cake. What an incredible journey they’ve
undertaken, travelling all the way from Bermuda to their spiritual home in the East End!”
ZSL’s Joe Pecorelli, says: “It has been fantastic to work with the Canal & River Trust and Thames
21 this year on this important project and we look forward to working with them to improve the
River Lee for eels in the future.”
Philip Belfield at the Environment Agency, says: “Working with the owners of weirs and barrages
that prevent the natural migration of fish and eels is fundamental to the successful delivery of eel
management plans and objectives of the Water Framework Directive. The Canal & River Trust has
been a key partner on this project and we look forward to collaborating with them more in the
future.”
Thames 21 Senior Programmes Manager, Theo Thomas, said: “I’d like to pay tribute to all the
volunteers that came out to record the elvers in all weathers, without them the project wouldn’t
have worked. We hope in time this project will help explain why there has been such a dramatic
drop in the numbers of eels, and as it develops, we may also discover how many of the thirteen
elvers recorded at Bow Locks may have made it back out of the Lee to the Sargasso Sea to
spawn.”
For details of the Canal & River Trust, including how to visit, volunteer or donate see
www.canalrivertrust.org.uk.
ENDS
For further media requests please contact:
Fran Read, national press officer, Canal & River Trust
t 020 7985 7276 m 07796 610 427 e fran.read@canalrivertrust.org.uk
Notes to editors:
European eels have a fascinating life cycle, with spawning taking place in the Sargasso Sea near
Bermuda. Larvae drift with the Gulf Stream to Europe where, upon reaching coastal areas, they
develop into glass eels and migrate up rivers and streams, such as the river Lee. As the juvenile
fish change colour and become dark green they are referred to as elvers. In the right conditions
they can overcome obstacles, crawl through wet grass and dig through wet sand to reach the
upstream waters and ponds where they mature. Upon maturity, they swim back downstream to
make the long journey back towards their spawning grounds. The European eel is listed as
critically endangered on the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List of Threatened
Species.
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The Canal & River Trust is the guardian of 2,000 miles of historic waterways across England and
Wales. We are among the largest charities in the UK, maintaining the nation’s third largest
collection of Listed structures, as well as museums, archives, navigations and hundreds of
important wildlife sites.
We believe that our canals and rivers are a national treasure and a local haven for people and
wildlife. It is our job to care for this wonderful legacy – holding it in trust for the nation in perpetuity
and giving people a greater role in the running of their local waterways. www.canalrivertrust.org.uk
ZSL – Founded in 1826, the Zoological Society of London (ZSL) is an international scientific,
conservation and educational charity: the key role is the conservation of animals and their
habitats. The Society runs ZSL London Zoo and ZSL Whipsnade Zoo, carries out scientific
research in the Institute of Zoology and is actively involved in field conservation in over 50
countries worldwide. For further information please visit www.zsl.org
Thames 21 is an environmental charity, working with communities to improve rivers and canals for
people and wildlife. The charity has worked with volunteers to record and monitor eel populations
in East London on the River Lea, and on the River Cray in Bexley as part of ZSL’s citizen science
project to help conserve the critically endangered European Eel.
www.thames21.org.uk/thames21
@thames21