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'Glass eels' AP/Press Association Images

Thousands of eels are being released into the North's lakes and rivers...

… Good?

SCIENTISTS ARE RELEASING thousands of eels into the River Lagan system in Northern Ireland, in a bid to boost the number of the species present.

According to the Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute, an experimental stocking exercise has already been carried out using glass eels (young eels) sourced from the River Severn.

The project was and paid for by the Lough Neagh Fisherman’s Co-operative Society, owners of the largest wild eel fishery in Europe.

“The objective of this experiment is to stock the Lagan and its lakes to capacity with eel in a single -year event in 2014,” Dr Derek Evans of the Fisheries and Aquatic Ecosystems Branch at AFBI said.

As eel recruitment across Europe has been declining steadily for over 30 years, this project represents an excellent opportunity to track the contribution of this batch of eels to the European spawning stock in a long-term experiment.

Eel Researchers introduce glass eels into Hillsborough Lake Cliff Mason Cliff Mason

Some of the eels have been marked so that their performance can be tracked, potentially over the next 20 years, throughout the river system.

The Northern Ireland Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure funds a programme of eel research in AFBI, according to the Institute.

Read: Spa treatment leaves man with eel in his… urethra

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27 Comments
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    Mute C I A N
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    Apr 11th 2014, 9:39 PM

    British eels are being relocated to Ulster, and will inevitably eventually outnumber the population of native eels in Ulster… This sounds very similar to a previous event in Irish history…

    I don’t know, but this sounds very fishy to me!

    367
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    Mute Celticspirit321
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    Apr 12th 2014, 7:46 AM

    Why don’t they stock it with trout or salmon?

    22
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    Mute Colin C
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    Apr 11th 2014, 9:31 PM

    Great. Planter eels. What could go wrong.

    124
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    Mute Glen
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    Apr 11th 2014, 9:32 PM

    It’s all good till one of them swims up your shorts.

    72
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    Mute Ben Gunn
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    Apr 11th 2014, 9:40 PM

    I thought young eels were called “elvers”. Where does glass eel come from?

    54
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    Mute me so harney
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    Apr 11th 2014, 9:52 PM

    Glass eel comes from Sargasso Sea …

    42
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    Mute TOP CAT
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    Apr 11th 2014, 9:43 PM

    Eel or chinese chicken,
    As we call them down my way.

    37
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    Mute John Kelly
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    Apr 11th 2014, 10:40 PM

    There being planted for the 100 year anniversary in 2016 of the 1916 Eelster rising.

    32
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    Mute me so harney
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    Apr 11th 2014, 10:50 PM

    They’re
    They’re
    They’re
    THEY’RE

    C’mon, it’s not that fcuking hard

    THEY’RE over THERE with THEIR friends.

    They are is shortened to they’re with the apostrophe representing the dropped ‘a’

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    Mute Patrick Cox
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    Apr 11th 2014, 10:57 PM

    Maybe he want to say,
    There, being planted…..

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    Mute Richard Nevin
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    Apr 11th 2014, 11:35 PM

    Well said. It constantly amazes me how bad spelling has become.

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    Mute Qwerty
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    Apr 12th 2014, 3:41 AM

    *Grammar ;-)

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    Mute Paul Roche
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    Apr 12th 2014, 1:14 PM

    Their, Their Me So… Calm down…

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    Mute Gerard Galbraith
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    Apr 12th 2014, 2:09 AM

    My comment was said as a joke!! Lighten up!! Don’t take it to serious.
    I think it’s great that these British eels are trying to take our water ways now.

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    Mute Gerard Galbraith
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    Apr 11th 2014, 11:55 PM

    Few eels with balaclava’s sort these Brits out

    26
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    Mute me so harney
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    Apr 12th 2014, 12:32 AM

    Was that actually an attempt at a sentence, or an old Chinese proverb?

    Confucius say ‘few eels with balaclavas…’

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    Mute Loraine Delaney
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    Apr 12th 2014, 12:54 AM

    It’s nice that you hide behind a pseudonym/fake photo and chastise others over spelling and grammar. It must be amazing to be so perfect. Give people a break and “listen” to what they are saying, rather than being so arrogant.

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    Mute me so harney
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    Apr 12th 2014, 1:06 AM

    Ok, so I listen to someone saying ‘A few eels with balaclavas will sort those Brits out’

    Ah, ok, it’s so much better now, my apologies ..

    Seriously?

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    Mute Dearbhla Russell
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    Apr 12th 2014, 2:27 AM

    Well said Lorraine. Sick of it.

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    Mute Qwerty
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    Apr 12th 2014, 3:47 AM

    It’s better to chastise each other than to ignore those errors and allow our collective standard of English to drop. Nobody’s perfect, but everyone benefits when errors are pointed out.

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    Mute Irish Revolution
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    Apr 11th 2014, 10:21 PM

    Slippery things those eels.

    18
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    Mute Michael O'Reilly
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    Apr 12th 2014, 9:42 AM

    The point of is :
    A continuation of a great project started many years ago by the great parish priest of Toomebridge – Fr. Kennedy who formed the Lough Neagh Fishermans Co-operative.

    Fr Kennedy Bought out the eel fishing rights from a number of companies and individuals on Lough Neagh and provided employment for dozens of families around the Lough which continues to this day.
    The eels are trapped and caught daily during the season, processed in the Co Operative in Toomebridge and exported all over Europe as a delicacy.

    The stock of eels has been declining in Europe and this is a re-stocking to ensure the future livelihoods of a lot of people living and working around Lough Neagh.

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    Mute Eoin Buckley
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    Apr 12th 2014, 1:13 AM

    The green witch man of Boosh fame would be delighted

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    Mute Rupert McPupkin
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    Apr 12th 2014, 7:29 AM

    Eels up inside ya – finding an entrance where they can…

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    Mute Adam Graham
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    Apr 12th 2014, 9:12 AM

    What benefit is der to this project ? Seriously though, the point seems to be “increase the eel population” but no mention of why ?

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    Mute King Olaf
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    Apr 12th 2014, 11:23 AM

    I would imagine it has to do with the eel fishing trade in NI. I remember watching a documentary a couple of years ago about how the fishermen were worried the native population drop would badly effect their business.

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    Mute Dave Timbs
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    Apr 12th 2014, 1:48 PM

    “largest eel fishery in Europe”. Commercially very important species in serious decline for 3 decades. So, important species, critically endangered = conservation project. I don’t see the problem.

    1
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