The eel fishing season on Lough Neagh began last week. And in a conservation measure, the Lough Neagh Fishermen’s Co-Operative Society was involved in helping restock the Lough with "glass eels" (one and a half million of them), the juveniles of the famous fish species. This is a crucial but very expensive practice, in which the Co-operative has been engaged since the 1980s. At 1760 sq. miles, Lough Neagh is the largest freshwater lake in the British Isles.
In his pictorial book on the Lough, Brian Cassells tells of what he calls the ‘theoretical’ life story of these slimy, snake-like fish considered to be a fine food delicacy. The young elvers born in the Sargasso Sea off Bermuda are carried 3000 miles on the Gulf Stream ending up in loughs and rivers in Europe. After a journey which can take up to two years some gather in the estuary of the Lower River Bann on the north coast of Northern Ireland and make their way upstream to Lough Neagh aided by special ladders strategically placed at weirs. They will live in the Lough for up to ten years.
According to Cassells, migrating eels are captured at weirs on the River Bann where it leaves Lough Neagh at Toome.
The Lough Neagh Fishermen’s Co-operative has been amongst the forerunners of wild eel producers for decades and is recognised as the largest source of wild-caught eel in Europe, producing around 400 tonnes of eel annually. The eels are mainly shipped to Holland (for smoking) and Billingsgate, London (for production of jellied eel) although eels are for sale locally.
The Co-operative affirms on its website, “We are a Co-operative, protecting the livelihood of fishermen and building a sustainable, viable future for fishing on Lough Neagh”.