Entangled eel washes up dead on Devon beach

An eel which washed-up on a beach in Devon is believed to have died after it was "entangled" in a man-made material, a wildlife trust has said.

Devon Wildlife Trust identified the animal as a conger eel and said they were commonly caught as bycatch - which is when marine life becomes entangled in fishing gear.

James Weston, who photographed the eel, said it was about 4ft (1.2m) long and he found it at Westward Ho! Beach at about 16:30 GMT on Tuesday.

Coral Smith, marine awareness engagement officer for the trust, said conger eels were "very common" along Devon's coastline and were found dead on beaches "quite a lot".

"It is very difficult to know exactly what happened especially based on two photos, but we know eels are commonly caught as bycatch in the potting industry but also caught in the angling industry," said Ms Smith.

"It looks to me it has been entangled halfway down very, very tightly in some sort of manmade item which has caused it to die and wash-up."

She said conger eels were found in shallow water and were more active at night.

Ms Smith said: "They are amazing animals and a really important part of our marine ecosystem here in Devon.

"It is amazing we have got eels in our waters."

The wildlife trust encouraged people to report any washed-up animals to the Marine Strandings Network.

Ms Smith added: "We have trained volunteers who can go out and record them, take photos and it will be recorded in our database.

"That is how we learn about these animals because marine animals are very hard to study.

"It is often them washing up dead which gives us a chance to learn more about them. It is a sad sight to see but it is really important."

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