Eel passes installed across Somerset
It's been done by the Environment Agency and Natural England.
Last updated 2nd Jun 2025
Somerset’s endangered eel population is being given a boost by new eel passes being installed on key water control struggles across the county.
Eel passes allow eels to safely navigate structures such as weirs, sluice gates and flood defences – with some species travelling up to 4,000 miles from their breeding grounds in the Sargasso Sea (part of the Atlantic Ocean off the east coast of the USA).
European eels are critically endangered, with their numbers falling by around 95 per cent in the past 40 years.
Natural England is now doing its bit to reverse this decline, installing 12 new eel passes at water level control structures in the North Moor and Kings Sedgemoor area in partnership with the Parrett Internal Drainage Board.
Further passes will be installed in the coming months and years by the Environment Agency (EA) as part of the Bridgwater tidal barrier project, which is in the early stages of construction.
Large numbers of European eels arrive in the Severn Estuary each spring, before swimming inland via the River Brue and River Parrett.
Somerset’s numerous water control structures, which are vital to prevent flooding, have acted as obstacles to eels’ migration to the upper reaches of both rivers, preventing them from reaching maturity and therefore being able to breed.
An eel pass acts as a ladder, allowing eels to swim up over weirs and more easily navigate Somerset’s network of rhynes and drainage ditches.
Natural England project lead officer Simon Phelps said: “Eels are a fascinating species and we’re lucky to have them in Somerset.
“They need our help to survive, so it has been great to be able to work with the Parrett Internal Drainage Board to deliver some practical actions for them.
“We hope to be able to do more of this type of thing in the future, to make the Levels and Moors a more welcoming place for this special creature.”
Drainage board ecologist Phil Brewin added: “With Natural England’s help, we are fitting eel passes to water control structures to help eels to access the extensive ditch network of the Somerset Levels.
“Eel is an important species for Somerset and working with local partners and communities to help restore eel populations on the Levels is a priority for us.
“This work will continue and, in combination with other conservation actions, we are confident that the decline in eel numbers experienced in recent decades can be reversed.”
As part of the Bridgwater tidal barrier project (which will cost around £230m to deliver), new eel and fish passes will be installed upstream on both the River Parrett and the River Tone.
The EA has applied for permission to create such a facility at Bradford-on-Tone Weir, between Taunton and Wellington, and Ham Weir near Martock – with Somerset Council expected to make a ruling on these proposals by the late-summer.
A spokesman said: “The proposed structures are not expected to have a detrimental impact on flood risk as there is significant bypassing of the
structures during a flood event.
“All impacts, in terms of deflecting flows or loss of channel volume, will be negligible and very localised and will have no impact on flood risk.”
An comprehensive update on the Bridgwater tidal barrier scheme is expected to be provided to the Somerset Rivers Authority (SRA) when its board meets in Bridgwater on June 6.