Scientist hopeful for eel's future as Ely celebrates

Scientist David Righton, who studies the fish, said he was hopeful about its future.

European Union regulations aimed at protecting eel stocks, which have fallen 95% since the 1980s, came into force nearly a decade ago.

Dr Righton works for the Centre for Environmental Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (Cefas), which has a base in Lowestoft, Suffolk.

"Over time they have endured a range of very significant ecological changes on a large geographic scale.

"They are a very resilient species on a day-to-day level. They can survive a very wide range of conditions and are very tolerant to many different environmental extremes."

Dr Righton also said eels could live for a "very, very long" time and had a "complicated" life cycle.

"There are tales of eels that have lived over 100 years," he said.

"They tend to be very long living as a freshwater fish species in general."