'Eel lanes' created in rivers to assist 4,000-mile migration

DEDICATED “eel lanes” are being created in the rivers of the South Downs National Park to assist the migration of the European eel, which makes an “incredible” 4,000-mile transatlantic journey from its birthplace in the Sargasso Sea.

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The project has been launched by the park authority, which is working with the Western Sussex Rivers Trust to protect the habitat of the eel in the Rother and Ems rivers.

It includes the installation of “fish passes” being created around man-made structures in the rivers which act as a narrow lane of water to provide eels with a route around artificial barriers such as dams and weirs.

And eel brushes - strips of bristles - are also being added at new water control structures in RSPB Pulborough Brooks and Pagham Harbour to help eels manoeuvre upstream.

A spokesman for the national park said: “The migration of these eels is quite extraordinary as they undergo several metamorphoses.