Eel catcher Peter Carter, whose family have worked in the trade for 500 years, has been out in the Fens for the final time before the ban comes into force, 1 October 2010. BBC

BBC
1 October 2010 Last updated at 09:06 ET A six-month ban on eel catching has begun as scientists try to find out why their numbers are plummeting. The number of eels in Britain’s rivers have fallen dramatically and nobody knows why. Eel catcher Peter Carter, whose family have worked in the trade for 500 years, has been out in the Fens for the final time before the ban comes into force.

Eel catching ban gets under way