© George Cowan

EELTREK news

© George Cowan

Update of the EEL Trek project for the month of April 2019

1. We have start monitoring glass eels, with the help of two students, Chris Xavas and David Fontes. In the first weeks we sampled only using hand nets, with no success. Our UK partners suggested we placed refuges, basic structures made with a mop head. We placed them on the places we were sampling, and started catching pigmented glass eels soon after.

2. Later in the month George Cowan and Sara Ramallo arrived from the UK and they took over, so now the sampling has intensified and a more elaborate refuge design has been implemented. We are catching and increasing number of glass eels.

3. George and Sara have also placed fyke nets, and caught some small silver eels, most likely males. This was not expected, but we know so little about these animals that we are not too surprised. We hope to make sense of it with further sampling.

4. George Cowan made a small video of the glass eels release - have a look at https://youtu.be/xopNtckAT5E