The photo below shows the elver trap at Ardnacrusha hydroelectric station at the end of the 2021 season. This vegetation did not grow in a couple of weeks and shows that ESB is not maintaining […]
Expert advice on glass eel, elver, yellow eel and silver eel management issues
Category: Elvers
Ardnacrusha: New boom but no progress with elver trap
I visited the elver trap at Ardnacrusha hydroelectric station on the Lower River Shannon in September 2017. The promised upgrades to the trap were never completed this year by the ESB. All they did here […]
Ennistymon elver run, May 2017
The elver runs in the spring of 2017 were considered to lower than some of the more recent runs (e.g. 2014). However, in May 2017 there was a significant elver run at Ennistymon Falls on […]
Ardnacrusha elver trap upgrades commence
We had a very productive meeting at Ardnacrusha hydroelectric station today discussing issues in relation to the upgraded elver trap. The trap is now operational but significant work is also being progressed. The completed trap […]
IFI upgrade elver traps
It took years of campaigning – but progress is finally being made with both Inland Fisheries Ireland and ESB upgrading their elver traps traps for the 2017 season. This is a very welcome development and […]
Elvers running at Ennistymon Falls, June 2016.
Elvers running at Ennistymon Falls during early June 2016. This is a difficult obstacle for #eels. There is a salmon pass in the middle of the falls and during low flows all the water is […]
Elver run at Ardnacrusha, June 2016
Critically endangered juvenile #eels trying to find a way upstream at Ardnacrusha hydro station on the Lower River Shannon, June 2016. Elvers can’t find this trap/pass. The spillway beside this trap is far more attractive […]
As few as 2% of elvers may pass Shannon dams
It has recently been reported by Ireland’s independent scientific committee on salmon that the numbers of Annex II listed Atlantic salmon passing the dams on the River Shannon is less than 5% of the conservation […]
Salmon counters – unnecessary eel migration barriers?
Instead of opening up migration pathways for eels (and lampreys) in Ireland, our state agency Inland Fisheries Ireland (IFI) are, themselves, a major threat to eel and lamprey populations. In 2013 IFI installed this crump […]
Ireland’s elver monitoring sites not operating again
We are very disappointed to report that many of Ireland’s national elver monitoring sites are not operational again this year in time for the elver run. This weekend we visited Inland Fisheries Ireland’s elver monitoring […]
ESB’s elver trap at Ardnacrusha: 1997 and 2014 compared
The 2014 juvenile eel catch on the River Shannon (from both Ardnacrusha and Parteen weir) came to only 354 Kg. This was only about 5% of the peak catches from these sites in the 1980’s, […]
European Eel Foundation 