Somerset Eel Recovery Project
Taking actionable steps to protect Somerset eel.
We're a conservation collective, built from the ground up.
Rather than focus on policies on an international scale, which take a lifetime to get over the line, we're working with stakeholders in our local community to make a small, but impactful difference on European eel populations. Once plentiful across Somerset Levels, this migratory fish is now registered as critically endangered throughout its range. We're working to change that.
We're make tangible contributions to advanced scientific research.
Citizen science is not what it used to be. We've thrown out quadrats and area surveys in favour of the latest advances in bio-technology. Through the use of our state-of-the-art aquatic eDNA kits, comprehensive analysis, and collaborative project design, we elucidate the barriers to eel migration and inform conservation efforts to support the recovery of eel populations in this vital habitat.
We're providing a forum for knowledge exchange.
We aim to create a sustainable local ecosystem by actively investing in partnerships with schools, capacity building at environmental conferences, and roundtable events with the power to bring conflicting stakeholders from the conservation, commercial fishering, flood defence, and green energy sectors together. Because we sincerely believe that knowledge is power.
1
Conservation issues.
We're working to inform local people about new and existing developments in Somerset which threaten the eel's survival.
2
Cultural concerns.
We're collaborating with historians, artists, and local creatives to make the case that the European eel is worth saving.
3
Scientific knowledge.
We're running a programme of lectures to inform local people about cutting edge developments in electronic biochemistry.
4
Traditional skills.
We're looking to re-introduce sustainable, traditional methods used to conserve, assist, and transport the European eel.
We're investing in unconventional barrier management techniques.
Engineered solutions take time, time we simply can't afford to waste. That's why we're introducing a range of low-cost interim measures to help elvers on their way into Somerset's waterways. Join us as we hand-craft straw ropes and drape them over some of the county's larger hydroelectric dams. Or sign on for one of our restocking initiatives, where we physically move eels past barriers and upstream.
We're pioneering trans-disciplinary approaches to problem solving.
Ever wondered what a Victorian novel might be able tell us about the inefficiencies in Victorian weirs? Or what a story from an elderly fieldworker can say about chemical pollution? Because we have. Throwing out the handbook for development strategy, with its hackneyed suppositions, we're deploying literary, oral, and art histories to inform our working practices and engage local creatives with our cause.
We're backed by Europe's No. 1 eel stewardship organisation.
In maintaining a close working relationship with the conservation experts and policy makers at the Sustainable Eel Group, we've been able to carve out a particular niche in the non-profit space. We can approach complex issues with confidence, without sacrificing the efficient working practices and achievable hyperlocal priorities of a small-scale community group.