The Wonderful Eel
In the early sixties, after a spell of very wet weather, the condition of some of the farm dykes made it necessary to do some improvements if we were to get on the land in the spring. The drainage system was always in the front of our activities, for there had been neglect for many years. Incidentally I have not noticed much dyke clearing being done for many years, chiefly due I guess to the very dry seasons we have had recently.
To get to the point of this comment, we decided to grasp the nettle, and clean out the dykes in the Park from Low Bridge Hole right up to the back of the Old Vicarage. This is a very old water course, and not connected with the pumped drainage system that operates throughout the whole of Swaffham Fen; but in recent years does need pumping on occasions, and has it's own engine at Upware. It is because this water course forms part of the lode system that connects Wicken, Burwell Reach, and the Park to the river Cam, and hence the sea. It is remarkable that the young eels, or elvers, manage to drift from their breeding area in the Sargasso Sea, go round the top of Scotland and find their way into the Wash and then the river Ouse and eventually the Cam. This two and a half thousand mile journey is possible due the ocean currents going clockwise round the Sargasso sea, and involving the whole of the North Atlantic Ocean.
The mature eels leave the Wash, pass through the strates of Dover, and take the southern route past the Canaries, then westward to the Breeding grounds. This journey can take three years to complete, but they leave in good shape, fully grown and well fed. Once there the spawn thousands of eggs, and then die. Sad really after such a strenuous journey.
After hatching the very small plancton like creatures drift on the northern current back towards Europe. I remember well the elvers arriving at a research lake in Ireland, where they managed to climb twenty feet up a ferocious waterfall. They did this by squiggling up the grass edges, and even up some vertical rock faces, stuck on by surface tension. Quite a sight as there were thousands of them Now to the reason of my remembering this dyke clearing. As soon as we started the work we noticed a few eels squiggling in the mud that was lifted out of the dyke. Many of the managed to wriggle back into the water but a large number went off through the grass and were not seen again. As we go to the places where the cattle used to drink, and in the summer stand in the water, the number of eels was amazing, thousands of them, many over two feet long.
What shall we do with them? Let them crawl away, or find their own way back to the water and thence down to the sea. As they were so well fed from the wild pond life that thrives in "dirty" water, it was clear to me that they were ready for their mammoth journey to the Sargasso sea. So instead of alerting the Eel Catcher we let the do their own thing, and next day they had all gone somewhere, not an eel to be seen.
As the work progressed, so did the number of eels, all going somewhere. It was the huge number that sticks in my mind, and I hope we did not upset the balance of nature too much by our activities. When cleaning out the pumped drainage area, we rarely saw an eel, as to get into those dykes they had to travel across land. I fully expect that some did, but they could not each the sea without going through the rotating pumps, and could not survive that treatment.
For those interested, the Lode pump is quite small and is situated against the lock on the River Cam side, but the water is only pumped if the level in the river Cam is too high to allow a natural discharge. The eels can therefore escape unhurt to make their long final journey. Incidentally it needs the lock to be opened and shut many times to let these fishes out, and the young elvers in, so I hope a few boats will keep passing through. There are still many other hazards before reaching Hunstanton and the open sea, besides the eel catchers, as at the High tide seasons the water needs to be pumped to avoid flooding; but these are huge machines and sweep the eels harmlessly through. A fascinating saga.