The decline in the eel fishery coincided with another conservation strategy that of getting rid of sewerage discharge and making the rivers clean but sterile it is yet another case of man creating an imbalance. Eels and elvers love sewerage and dirty rivers and hate clean pristine waters. So lets have a look at these great conservation led initiatives,creating Bass conservation areas in estuaries- they eat all the smolts,cleaning up the rivers under the water directive-make the river clean but sterile- discourages fly life and eels,stop culling fish eating birds- loss of juvenile stock, habitat improvements - increases the AWA and discourages fish to run to sea (sea trout) and last but not least stop dredging- excessive flooding
While netsmen are made the scapegoats for much that goes wrong in our rivers and estuaries the cartel should look at what YOU'VE been responsible for over the last 20yrs.

#131: Orri - netsmen are in no way shape or form "scapegoats" The salmon stocks are very low so the need to stop the netting is blatantly obvious to help conserve these creatures. Its so simple, but not for a few on here it seems. Keep grasping at the straws. I know, perhaps you could try mentioning all the important charitable work the netsmen carry out, helping old ladies across the road, cutting the vicars grass, buying the big issue, feeding the homeless .................