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Statkraft moving eels in Lagan river
To contribute to the preservation of the eel population, Statkraft helped move 400 eels downstream in Lagan river last week. The move itself took place using a tanker from Tiraholm to Laholm.
The world’s eel population is threatened by fishing, environmental toxins, loss of fresh-water growth areas and migration obstacles such as dams and power plants. The eel migrates to the Sargasso Sea and eel that are ready to spawn, known as glass eels, must therefore migrate from the growth areas in fresh water to the sea.
Statkraft’s eel transport is part of ”Krafttag ål” (”Effort Eel”), an eel preservation collaboration between the Swedish Board of Fisheries and six Swedish hydropower companies. The collaboration entails both specific measures and development targets, as well as an earmarked budget of SEK 18.5 million.
The river system measures include capture and transporting eels before releasing them downstream of the lower-most power plant. Experiences gained from the measures and theoretical development projects will contribute to more knowledge and long-term expertise in the area. We have also released eel fry on the west coast. The target for all these measures is an increased of 100 000 glass eels by 2013.
The programme is administrated by Elforsk and lead by a steering group. Read more at www.elforsk.se.