A crucial stretch of river in West Cumbria is undergoing a transformation as a redundant weir at Glinger Burn near Longtown is being dismantled to aid the migration of critically endangered European eels. The £50,000 project, funded by the Environment Agency, is being carried out by the West Cumbria Rivers Trust.
The weir's removal is expected to allow eels and other fish to navigate the river more easily, both upstream and downstream. European eels have experienced a drastic population decline, with numbers falling by 90% in the last three decades, according to the environmental charity.
Assistant director Luke Bryant of West Cumbria Rivers Trust highlighted the challenges eels face at the weir. "Maybe in the winter when there's really heavy flow they can, but a lot of the time they'll struggle," Bryant stated. Eels were at risk of injury when attempting to leap over the weir, particularly when water levels were low.
Conservationists anticipate that the removal of the structure will significantly improve the eels' ability to traverse the river. Diggers have been on-site for the past two weeks undertaking the demolition work.
The European eel is a species that undertakes an extraordinary life cycle, migrating from Europe to the Sargasso Sea in the North Atlantic to breed. Their populations have faced numerous threats, including habitat loss, pollution, and overfishing, leading to their critically endangered status.