FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
29 February 2024 (London, England) – The Somerset Eel Recovery Project (SERP), a community partnership advocating for wetland conservation and renewal, is delighted to announce quadrupling of its programme for 2024. The plan is to introduce glass eels in tanks to fifty classrooms across Somerset.
The European eel, a migratory fish once abundant in the waterways of Somerset, has declined substantially in recent years, the most notable pressure factors being development on former floodplains, diffuse pollution caused by surface runoff, and insensitive barrier engineering along vital migratory pathways. Such are the impacts at all corners of its range that it has been designated by IUCN as critically endangered and listed by CITES to control and limit trade.
One small Somerset village designation took the initiative to declare enough was enough, joining forces with experienced conservationists at the Sustainable Eel Group to raise awareness of these very real challenges and break the seemingly insurmountable problem down with a series of viable, local-scale solutions. But, like with any organisation working from the bottom up, funding is a challenge and volunteering is essential.
With this vital community support, SERP can work with schools and students to take more than one million eels out of hazardous environments and beyond barriers, and it can make meaningful strides toward the localised recovery of European eel numbers.
Project lead and co-founder of SERP, Vanessa Becker-Hughes, would like to extend her heartfelt gratitude to the anonymous donor for their invaluable contribution to resources, and to the people of Wedmore for their ongoing dedication to the conservation cause. Together, we can work towards a brighter future where eels thrive in Somerset’s waterways, reshaping the ecologies, the economies, and the cultures of the future.
About the Sustainable Eel Group
The Sustainable Eel Group (SEG) is the largest and highest profile non-governmental organisation to focus on the recovery of the depleted and vulnerable European eel, a key indicator of water quality and ecosystem viability in temperate rivers and wetlands. By working with partners in science, conservation, and the commercial sector, it drives change from the bottom up, challenging inertia in waterways management.
About the Somerset Eel Recovery Project
The Somerset Eel Recovery Project (SERP) is a community partnership committed to reversing the decline of European eel in and around the Somerset Levels. Supported by experts in science and engineering, nonetheless rooted in localised concerns for educational outreach and improved access to nature, it looks to contribute to international-scale problem solving by taking small, achievable steps towards ecosystem change.
Media contact information
Alexander Barty
PR & Communications Consultant
Sustainable Eel Group
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