Across the United Kingdom, eel conservation is increasingly moving beyond a narrowly technical focus on stock recovery and water engineering towards a broader social model centred on participation, public engagement, and community-led restoration. Whilst barrier removal, scientific monitoring, and habitat improvement remain essential components of recovery, there is growing recognition that long-term conservation outcomes also depend on public understanding of rivers, local involvement in restoration activity, and the development of cultural and social relationships with migratory species, including eel. This shift has become increasingly visible through projects which combine scientific monitoring with education, citizen science, landscape interpretation, and collaborative governance at catchment scale.

This month, a new tranche of funding for the ‘Eels of Steel’ project on the River Tees marked a shift in government policy towards grassroots decision-making. Supported financially by Natural England but delivered directly by the Tees Rivers Trust, the programme combines eel monitoring using eDNA, habitat restoration, and public engagement within the Tees’ heavily modified post-industrial catchment. Monitoring work at the Tees, its barrage, and the surrounding tributaries, is being used to improve understanding of movement and connectivity; but another objective of the scheme is to involve volunteers and local communities directly in the recovery process and raise awareness of the incredible biodiversity of the northeast of England, which is increasingly under threat. The project places considerable emphasis on participation, reflecting a wider recognition that restoration activity is more effective when conservation is accompanied by sustained public engagement with management issues.

A similar approach is emerging at larger scale through the Thames Catchment Community Eels Project, led by Thames Rivers Trust and supported through initial development funding from the National Lottery Heritage Fund of £460,00, which is set to increase to £2.7 million as soon as the first phase has completed. The programme brings together multiple organisations across the Thames catchment to address barriers to migration, expand citizen science monitoring, and develop public outreach linked to river heritage and eel conservation. Importantly, the project frames eel recovery not simply as a biodiversity issue but as part of a broader relationship between communities and waterways, connecting conservation delivery with education, participation, and local stewardship. The scale of the partnership and the funding already secured sets a precedent for community-led eel conservation initiatives and reflects how collaborative eel conservation work is increasingly taken seriously by policymakers.

In Somerset, the Somerset Eel Recovery Project has developed one of the most effective examples of this community-oriented approach to eel conservation, combining practical conservation activity with education, cultural programming, and long-term public engagement. Alongside work to engage local people and strengthen collaboration between artists and writers, farmers and conservationists, national, regional, and local stakeholders, the project has explored participatory approaches to monitoring and interpretation, including the use of eDNA sampling to assess eel presence and better understand the impacts of barriers within local rhynes and drainage systems. SERP has developed a wide range of outreach activities intended to reconnect communities with waterways through direct experience, including traditional craft workshops such as rush weaving and straw rope making, the widely publicised ‘eels in the classroom’ initiatives bringing live eels into local schools, guided landscape walks, and collaborations with local creatives on installations and events. Multi-disciplinary projects such as the guided ‘eel pilgrimage’ and regular rush weaving workshops reflect a broader shift towards understanding eel conservation as a social and cultural process shaped by participation, identity, memory, and place.

The Sustainable Eel Group strongly supports this broader social turn within eel conservation and considers it essential to the long-term success of restoration efforts across Europe and beyond. Technical interventions alone are unlikely to deliver lasting recovery without corresponding public engagement, local participation, and stronger social relationships with rivers and migratory species. SEG therefore remains committed to supporting projects which integrate ecological restoration with education, cultural interpretation, citizen science, and community involvement. A forthcoming social impact study will further examine how these approaches influence public attitudes, stakeholder engagement, and wider conservation outcomes across different catchments, governance systems, and project models.