European Eel

By Alex Clayton · Updated 23 October 2026

The eel in your local canal or drain began life thousands of miles away in the Sargasso Sea, and its species is listed as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List. The European eel (Anguilla anguilla) is the long, snake-like fish found in most UK waterbodies. Catch one on rod and line in England or Wales and it has to go back.

That last point is where a lot of online advice on British eels goes wrong. In England the national byelaw says return it unharmed to the same water, and in Wales removing an eel by rod and line is prohibited outright. This guide covers identifying an eel fish on the bank, its life cycle and status, what the rules actually say, and how to catch and return eels without harming them.

How to Identify a European Eel

Four features confirm a European eel in seconds, usually before it has finished tying your line in knots. According to the Canal & River Trust, look for:

a long, cylindrical body
small gill openings just behind the head
one pair of pectoral fins
no pelvic fins

The fish most often confused with an eel is a lamprey.

Feature	European eel	Lamprey
Mouth	Proper jaws	Round sucker disc, no jaws
Paired fins	One pair of pectoral fins	None
Gill openings	One small opening each side	A row of separate gill holes

Anglers also talk about yellow eels and silver eels. These are life stages, not separate species. A yellow eel is the resident, growing fish. A silver eel is a mature fish changing colour before it leaves for the sea, covered in the life cycle section below.

Most eels anglers meet are small. The Canal & River Trust reports plenty of small eels on the Gloucester and Sharpness Canal, but also eels of up to 9lb (about 4.1kg) found in lock chambers during repair works. The British record is 11lb 3oz (about 5.07kg), caught by Steve Ricketts and ratified by the British Record (rod-caught) Fish Committee in June 2024, according to Angling Times. The 47in fish was released alive and beat Steve Terry’s 11lb 2oz record from 1978.

For side-by-side help with other species, see our guide to identifying UK freshwater fish. Still unsure? Keep the fish on a wet mat, take a quick photo and get it back in.

The Eel Life Cycle: From the Sargasso Sea to Your Local River

Nobody has yet pinned down exactly where European eels spawn. What is known is the journey their young make to reach UK rivers, and scientists believe the whole population breeds in one area of the western Atlantic: the Sargasso Sea.

The life cycle, as set out by the Canal & River Trust, runs like this:

Larvae. Tiny larvae drift for about three years on the Gulf Stream towards Europe.
Glass eels. They arrive at the coast as transparent glass eels.
Elvers. The glass eels darken into elvers and start moving upstream into rivers, drains and canals. The law counts them as eels too: the Eels (England and Wales) Regulations 2009 define eels as Anguilla anguilla, including elvers and glass eels.
Yellow eels. The young fish settle and grow in fresh or brackish water for years.
Silver eels. Once mature, at between 8 and 18 years old, they turn silver and head back out to sea to spawn.

Lifespan varies enormously. The Canal & River Trust gives a range of 8 years to possibly 100 years for eels that are landlocked and cannot make the return journey.

Eels can also cross wet land to reach unconnected pools, which is why they turn up in isolated ponds with no inflow.

That long freshwater stage is the weak point. A European eel that needs 8 years or more in rivers and lakes before it can breed even once cannot absorb heavy losses along the way, and that leads straight to its conservation status.

Why the European Eel Is Critically Endangered

More young eels were reaching European coasts before the 2020 IUCN reassessment, and it still was not enough. The species stayed at Critically Endangered. As reported by the Convention on Migratory Species, Matt Gollock, Chair of the IUCN SSC Anguillid Eel Specialist Group, explained that the recruitment increases recorded by ICES were not strong enough to change the category.

The European eel now carries a full stack of protection:

Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List
CITES Appendix II, which controls international trade
CMS Appendix II, for migratory species needing cooperation between countries
UK Biodiversity Action Plan priority species
Protected under EC Regulation 1100/2007 and the Eels (England and Wales) Regulations 2009

The pressures are familiar. Weirs, sluices and pumping stations block eels moving upstream as elvers and downstream as silver eels. Wetland and river habitat has been lost, and glass eels were historically fished heavily.

One practical fix sits in the law itself. Under regulation 14 of the 2009 Regulations, the Environment Agency can require the owner of an obstruction to build or alter an eel pass.

Anglers are a small part of the picture. Careful handling and returning every eel is the part you control.

Eel Fishing Rules in England and Wales

Eel fishing in the UK is legal, but keeping the fish is another matter. Some fishing sites still claim that keeping an eel is not explicitly banned. For rod anglers in England and Wales, that is wrong.

England. Under the national rod fishing byelaws on GOV.UK, you must return any eel you catch to the same water unharmed, coastal waters included. You need a valid Environment Agency rod licence. The right licence allows up to 4 rods for coarse fish or eels, outermost rods within 3 metres, and no rod left unattended.

Wales. Natural Resources Wales prohibits the removal of eels by rod and line from any water, out to 6 nautical miles.

The 2009 Regulations. The Eels (England and Wales) Regulations 2009 are often quoted as the angler’s rule, but their catch returns (regulation 3) and close season (regulation 10) cover methods other than rod and line.

Close seasons. In England, the coarse close season runs from 15 March to 15 June on rivers, streams and drains. Eels can be fished all year on waters with no coarse close season. Regional extras are below; see also our fishing seasons guide.

Nation or region	Can you keep an eel?	Close season note
England (national)	No, return unharmed to the same water	15 March to 15 June on rivers, streams and drains
North West	No	Eel close season 15 March to 15 June on non-tidal rivers, streams and canalised river sections; none in tidal waters (GOV.UK)
Anglia	No	On some other waters, eel fishing is allowed all year only if no hook or metal implement is attached to the line (GOV.UK)
Midlands, South East, South West	No	Regional eel rules apply: check your EA region page on GOV.UK
Wales	No, removal by rod and line prohibited	Check the NRW byelaws
Scotland and Northern Ireland	Check Fisheries Management Scotland or DAERA	Check with the fishery

The Canal & River Trust says eels caught in matches must be returned after the weigh-in. Fishery rules can be stricter than the law, so check with the fishery before you travel.

Where and When to Find Eels in the UK

Two signals matter more than anything else when looking for eels: dark, coloured water and the hours after dusk.

The Canal & River Trust says eels live in most waterbodies, prefer dark, coloured or silty water and feed mainly at night. That covers a lot of UK fishing:

canals and drains
slow, deep rivers
old gravel and clay pits
isolated ponds, which eels can reach overland

Within a water, look for cover and a soft bottom. Margins beside snags and overhanging trees, silty bays and deep, slow stretches are the classic eel swims. Fish early evening and into darkness, and expect the warmer months to produce more eels than winter.

Plenty of eels are caught by anglers who were not fishing for them. They readily take worm and fish baits meant for bream and tench, especially after dark, and they share the same silty, coloured waters as silver bream. If the steady pull on your feeder rod turns into something that writhes, now you know. Our coarse fish species hub covers the other fish you are likely to share a swim with.

Planning a spring session? Check the close-season rules above first.

Best for: warm, overcast nights on coloured water. Skip bright, clear, cold days.

How to Fish for Eels Without Harming Them

Eels swallow baits fast. As Phil Spinks points out in an Angling Direct eel fishing guide, a deep-hooked eel is potentially a dead one, so build everything around lip-hooking.

Rigs. The Canal & River Trust recommends lip-hooking rigs such as the twig rig or a semi-fixed rig, a short trace, sensitive bite detection and hooks typically size 6 to 10 matched to the bait. The twig rig, developed by Barry McConnell, puts stiff tubing just above the hook so the eel cannot take the bait deep.

Line. Eels are not shy feeders, and their powerful mouths can bite through fine lines, notes Carl Nicholls, fisheries and angling manager at the Canal & River Trust. Swap a fine bream or roach hooklength for a stronger, abrasion-resistant one.

Bait	Why it works	Note
Small sections of fish deadbait	Strong scent in coloured water	Size it to suit the hook
Pieces of lobworm	Natural food, easy to get	See our worms guide
Maggots	Recommended by the Canal & River Trust	Small fish will find them too

Bites. Strike early. Letting a run develop gives the eel time to swallow the bait.

Unhooking. Set up before you cast:

Lay out a wet unhooking mat.
Control the eel with a damp cloth or wet hands.
Unhook quickly with forceps or a disgorger.
Return the eel promptly to the water it came from. Skip the keepnet.

If the hook is too deep to remove safely, cut the line as close to the mouth as you can. See our guide to unhooking and handling fish.

Against a standard running rig, the twig rig may cost a few missed bites but deep-hooks far fewer eels.

Frequently asked questions

Can you keep an eel you catch in the UK?

No, not in England or Wales. In England you must return any eel to the same water unharmed under the national rod byelaws on GOV.UK. In Wales, NRW prohibits removing eels by rod and line. In Scotland and Northern Ireland, check with Fisheries Management Scotland or DAERA and the fishery.

Do the Eels (England and Wales) Regulations 2009 apply to anglers?

Not for keeping eels. The return rule for anglers sits in the rod byelaws. According to legislation.gov.uk, the 2009 Regulations mainly cover other fishing methods, catch returns, their own close season and eel passes on obstructions.

What is the British record eel?

The British record eel is 11lb 3oz (about 5.07kg), caught by Steve Ricketts and ratified by the British Record (rod-caught) Fish Committee in June 2024. The fish was 47in long and was released alive.

Is there a close season for eels?

Yes, on many waters in England. The 15 March to 15 June close season applies on rivers, streams and drains, while eels can be fished all year on waters without a coarse close season. Anglia, the North West and other regions add extra rules, so check your EA region page on GOV.UK.

How long do eels live?

European eels live from 8 years to possibly 100 years if landlocked, according to the Canal & River Trust. Most mature and leave fresh water for the sea at between 8 and 18 years old.