The European eel (Anguilla anguilla) is critical to the health of Britain’s rivers. Historically, eels made up to 50% of fish biomass in freshwater systems, contributing to marine, coastal, brackish, freshwater and riparian ecosystems across their 20-year lifespan as both predator and prey. In addition to their ecological significance, the eel has been imbued in the development of English cultures as early as the 10th Century, shaping society from the daily habits of riparian cultures to international trade relations.

Today, however, continued patterns of environmental degradation, overfishing, and the continued movement of urban cultures away from river systems, have left the European eel on the brink of extinction. This project uses a case study of The Ravensbourne River in southeast London to design a system of ecological conservation of the European eel. The broader outcome of this work aims to assist ongoing, though often isolated, community attempts to restore the river’s fragmented ecologies, conceptualising how historic practices of the movement of eels can benefit local ecologies and cultures.