When a Māori visited Elverpool
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What if eels ceased to exist and were extinct tomorrow? Those who are squeamish about eels would probably say “Get rid of them, hell yeah!” However, that sentiment is out of fear without knowing their ecological and cultural significance. Well, not just eels but all species have an important role in offering eco-services for all. In a time of need for desperate repair to vast environmental damage, we need to protect our natural environment and species. To be frank, I could argue that the human species, the most intelligent, is the only species alive that has a net negative contribution to the earth. Contrary to my indigenous beliefs and values. And with that comment, back to eels and visiting Elverpool, better known today as Liverpool.
I attended the 2nd International Eel Science Symposium in Liverpool which brought together eel-loving fanatics for a three-day intensive conference. Given the European Eel population and the declining NZ eel populations, the conference can provide foresight if the NZ eel populations continue to decline.
The European Eel is a critically endangered species having suffered a 95% decline in numbers returning to the United Kingdom’s rivers since the 1980s[1]. It’s difficult to compare due to a lack of information on New Zealand eels. The long-finned eel is “chronically threatened and in gradual decline” whilst the short-finned eel is “not threatened”[2] (Freshwater eel, Department of Conservation). However, the decline of the NZ eel species has been drastic like many other species, 76% (39 of 51 indigenous freshwater species) are threatened with extinction or at risk of becoming threatened.[3]
If we don’t reverse the decline, we’ll be staring down the barrel that Europe and the wider Northern Hemisphere are facing. Worse yet, what if the native long-finned eel became extinct?
On reflection of this question and the conference I clarified questions I had about this mysterious fish, as there is much, we do not know. Researchers should ask themself; how will my research benefit an eel? ?
The 2nd International Eel Science Symposium
Caroline Durif of the Institute of Marine, Norway, started the conference as the Keynote Speaker providing a history not just of eels but the history of science on eels. Research on eels has adopted more rigorous methods of scientific study since the 1930s, yet they highlight the great fascination with this species which I’ve reviewed further.
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A Brantevik (Swedish) Eel that lived for 155 years?
A Swedish Eel was released into a town well by an eight-year-old boy Samuel Nisson in 1859 who lived to 2014 after 155 years. One historical practice was to place an eel in your well to clean bugs and keep the drinking water clean. Whether the age is true or exaggerated there is agreement that it likely lived for over a hundred years. In this case, I prefer the story of outside scientists having to disprove local knowledge rather than validate it. Eels are now aged using the otolith bone, and ear bone, but this advancement has not been made.
Given an eel can live this long what other superpowers does it have?
Eels also have a unique ability to store energy and go without. There isn’t an obvious answer to how long an eel can go for without food. A recent study on the metabolic effects of starvation[4] showed a significant decrease in blood glucose both after 95 and 145 days leaving the eel in a very vulnerable state. This was with modern fish welfare standards!
Prior to fish welfare standards, a study on male (silver) and female (yellow and silver) eels was kept in freshwater without food for various lengths of time. It states the eels were killed after 7 months to 3 or 4 years. After a gradual decrease, the final body weight was reduced by 84% in males (52 months) and 67–69% in females (up to 4 years)[5]. After all that suffering it was simply euthanised after losing 84% of its body weight.
I don’t think for a moment that a species could last this long with no food but suspect it survived on algae growth or other water-spawn nutrients. Albeit I wouldn’t let scientists with this intent anywhere near our eels back home. Don’t touch my eels!
For those of whom are squeamish and scared of eels here’s one more reason to be. Early studies on eels attempted to understand the toxicity of eel blood by injecting it into live animals such as rabbits and dogs. After a few drops of eel blood, the animal was dead.[6] In case you were concerned, once heated (cooked) the toxic proteins are neutralised.
Within half an hour, the length of the first presentation, I’d learnt so much. Only 35 more speakers and 7-panel sessions.
The surprise and shock to me was the normalisation of farming to save the European eel from extinction. This is a controversial narrative and has only been publicly debated with a few endangered species in New Zealand i.e. kereru or weka[7]. Farming a species creates supply for the existing demand and takes pressure off the natural cycle or ‘wild’ population. I had to get used to understanding the term wild eel population as if it is an unsophisticated animal that doesn’t have incredible superpowers. ?
I don’t agree with solutions that remove accountability from irresponsible behaviour in this case externalising our environment for short-term economic growth such as farming. Despite this, it is still a valid solution.
Similarly with climate change instead of changing bad behaviour, we learn to exist with it and find compromises resulting in other externalities. The examples shared in this conference were that 97% of the British waterways are fragmented [8], denying continuous flow and entry for species i.e. dams, channel gates, and flood management. Of course, you would expect a significant decline if the fish’s breeding pathway to the sea is blocked.
There is slow progress to correct this as dams across Europe are being removed that are no longer operational. Removed by those who owned the dams or public funding?[9] Don’t get me started.
Back to farming, currently, the financial epicentre of glass eels is China which has 80% of the farmed eel market before later distributing adult eels to consumers. Now here’s the silver underbelly. Eels are an expensive fish on the market, even more so when populations of ‘wild’ eel have crashed and the species is threatened. A natural economic reaction has led to investment into eel farming to improve survival rate to maturity and efficiency of harvest and even as far as lab procreation albeit with limited success. Getting an eel to breed is not an easy task they aren’t like modern-day humans, Netflix and chill, and the procreation happens. Imagine running 1000km in offroad terrain that you’ve never run on with exhaustive temperatures, when you’re done then you get to procreate but not a moment before. To translate, eel species spawn in different locations but they swim 100s and even 1000s of km to their spawning site at depths of as far as 1200m deep. If there wasn’t pressure before wanting to procreate, there it is. To replicate this procreation in the lab they put the eels through a water mill.?? [es1]?
Eels are a fishy business – Trade and crime
The European Union has banned trading glass eels outside of their region however that doesn’t stop a motivated wildlife criminal who is going to lengths to smuggle glass eels in suitcases on international flights[10]. With the prices glass eels fetch and a slap on the wrist legal consequence, why would criminals trade in illegal drugs? Despite the population being threatened there are handsome illegal profits to be made, estimated to be up to EUR 3 billion in peak years[11]. An unlikely hero for the European Eel in the United Kingdom is Nigel Farage, Leader of the Reform Party who petitioned for Brexit and won. To everyone else’s dismay in the aftermath. As a result, the trading of glass eel from the United Kingdom into the lucrative European market was cut off. Allowing the wild populations to have a sigh of relief. One less pressure on their existence.
If you’d have a wild guess at the cost of a kilo of eel and glass eel from a fish market, what would you say?
Based on the Tokyo Metropolitan Central Wholesale Market the average prices ranged around ￥5,000 (JPY) or $36 USD per kilo. Whereas glass eels, that’s another story. The prices of glass eels (Anguilla japonica) can soar to ￥ 2.35 million per kilogram ($15,000/kg) USD in Shizuoka, a major harvesting region in Japan, largely due to a continuous poor harvest in recent years and changes in the trading system[12].
Shh don’t tell the New Zealand Government, that our unique biodiversity is up for sale to the highest seller willing to displace them from the environment and perhaps existence.
领英推荐
Sold to coal! Sorry blind Freddy, a Minister in parliament for 5 months has convicted you to extinction after calling Aotearoa home for 1000s of years.
It was a lot, but I made it to the last presentation of the conference and the only one on eel genomic differences gave some insight presented by Ezgi Ogutcen a bioinformatician researcher. I’ve assumed that spawned larvae make their way back to the freshwaters of their parents. Could this be the time to uncover this?
The eels surveyed in the genomics data on eel species across the world including the Australian and New Zealand eels. A query was asked if intermixing occurs between species of a similar region, improving genetic variation, among the various eel species[13]. This was notable as in the preliminary findings there was little to no difference between subspecies. More work is required for the conclusion, but this suggests limited genetic differences between the common subspecies of eel in Australia and New Zealand. ?
But what about the hereditary connection to freshwater and place? Whilst this was not in scope other participants had an aversion to the idea. ?
The eel in the room!
As a non-scientist it was a pleasure to share space with leading researchers on eel across the globe however there were two blatant omissions. A mission-led science approach. Mission-led science is a collaborative, transdisciplinary, multi-sector approach to solving ‘big picture’ problems and creating impact.[14] What is the big-picture challenge that the collective of research and researchers are aiming to achieve?
The second is the acknowledgement of traditional knowledge systems, in Aotearoa, this is called mātauranga Māori. It isn’t just local generation-to-generation knowledge but 100s or even 1000s of years established in cultural principles in a certain place. For example, portages were created by First Nations in Canada at least 7000 years ago as transport pathways between waterbodies and land acting as roads in a broader transport network.? The role of mātauranga Māori can pave a pathway like many traditional knowledge systems and have principles of intergenerational responsibility. In my tribal area, we manage and harvest eels using mātauranga Māori.
I strongly advocate for both these considerations in the research of eels globally.
Let’s take a dive into the New Zealand eel.
Whilst the long-fin eel is endemic to New Zealand and classified as threatened and declining, the Total Allowable Catch is currently 254.95 tonnes per year, with commercial making up 137 tonnes[15]. However, for the 12-month period to 30/09/2023, the commercial reported catch was 21.8 tonnes (Fisheries Infosite). The commercial reported catch has been declining for years. ?
Whilst there is one less pressure of excessive commercial fishing, there are dams and fish passes – the freshwater fish Nutri Bullet! There were several discussions on fish pass research. Speaking with one of the researchers in the UK who had worked with New Zealand research was disappointed we adopted fish passes without correcting their failings and not adopting their learnings.
Now many councils with fish passes are backpedalling alongside them as iwi, hapū and environmental groups put pressure on councils for fish-safe passage following a fish pass massacre rate. Recent work in the Waikato rivers has shown the recent success of a 100% eel-safe passage using an Archimedes Screw[16]. The caveat, and as mentioned at the conference is that fish-safe has not been achieved. Relative to other fish eel are simpler to cater for. There are fish passes all over New Zealand freshwater fragmenting rivers and disrupting the natural cycle and with limited data what reason would we have to not suspect a similar outcome to these unfortunate eel through a fish pump? Many of these challenges were also shared at the conferences despite certain advancements.
The hero we needed but didn’t deserve.
?The tuna is an icon of sheer determination and adaptability to harsh environments. It has number 8 wire DNA, a native language of ‘she’ll be right’ and is hardened by traversing the Pacific Ocean just like its Māori cousins. It’s resilience to countless scientific experiments like starvation for four years, stress-tested breeding in captivity, diving up to 1400m deep in the ocean and swimming 1000kms to breed. The eel will be connected to Māori in perpetuity through whakapapa despite its existence like how the huia bird is despite being extinct since the early 19th century. ?Will the eel survive the onslaught of environmental mismanagement? Will its presence in the freshwater of Aotearoa remain to be with us for future generations? I’d say, “hell yeah it will!”.
A special thanks to the Institute of Fisheries Management and Environmental Agency who hosted the conference.?
[2] https://www.doc.govt.nz/nature/native-animals/freshwater-fish/eels/freshwater-eels-in-new-zealand/
?[es1]
Journalist, Documentary Filmmaker, Freelance Writer and Photographer
2 个月Kia ora Eden, Bill Morris here from New Zealand Geographic magazine. I was hoping to have a chat to you in regards to this symposium. I was wondering if you'd be free to talk at some stage? Ngā mihi
Senior Policy Researcher at Environmental Defence Society (EDS)
2 个月This: "Similarly with climate change instead of changing bad behaviour, we learn to exist with it and find compromises resulting in other externalities." So true. I always feel uneasy when solutions to extinction risk focus on farming or zoos - so often it feels like giving up on wild populations and protection. Acceptance that it's not us that need or are capable of change. Our societies seem so inflexible and unadaptive!
Campaigner, community organiser & policy nerd with a future to lose. Tangata Tiriti.
2 个月Good read e hoa
Science Diplomacy - Government Relations - Biosecurity - Veterinary Public Health
2 个月Kia ora Eden! A really good read - thank you and ka pai for sharing knowledge and experience in an international arena. Looking forward to reading more!