Somerset wildlife group to release millions of eels into rivers

Pupils at Wedmore First School are excited to look after the eels

A tank of eels has arrived at a school as part of a project to reintroduce millions of baby eels back into rivers.

Since the 1980s, their numbers in Somerset have dramatically declined.

The Sustainable Eel Project (SEP) has been working to ensure the fish can find safe refuge and thrive again in the county's wetland habitats.

As part of the project's first phase, pupils at Wedmore First School will look after some before they are released.

One student said they were "really excited" for the "little guys" to be at their school.

Another said they thought it was a good project.

The Sustainable Eels Project will re-introduce the baby eels into Somerset's rivers

"If we didn't bring them in to our school they might've not survived because they're too small," they said.

"A lot of other animal's would have tried to eat them."

Twelve tanks of eels are being put into schools across Wedmore.

They will be looked after by the children for three to six weeks, before being released into a local river.

Geoff Carrs has been working with Wedmore First School

Wilder Wedmore member Geoff Carrs, who has been working with the school and SEP, said the scheme will help people learn more about eels and the environment.

"Eels are such an important part of the social history and fabric of the levels," he said.

"We've lost a lot of species. The environment is under a lot of pressure and as a group we came together to figure out what we could do to try and fix it.

"There's a number of things that can happen, we can relocate them if they come up the Severn in vast numbers and then release them in other parts.

"We also have to think about how we can take barriers out that stop the migration once they're here as well."