An eel buck or eel basket is a type of

fish trap A fish trap is a trap used for fishing. Fish traps include fishing weirs, lobster traps, and some fishing nets such as fyke nets. Traps are culturally almost universal and seem to have been independently invented many times. There are two main ...

that was prevalent in the

River Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the The Isis, River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, se ...

in England up to the 20th century. It was used particularly to catch

eel Eels are ray-finned fish belonging to the order Anguilliformes (), which consists of eight suborders, 19 families, 111 genera, and about 800 species. Eels undergo considerable development from the early larval stage to the eventual adult stage ...

s, which were a staple part of the

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

diet. Eel bucks were baskets made of

willow Willows, also called sallows and osiers, from the genus ''Salix'', comprise around 400 speciesMabberley, D.J. 1997. The Plant Book, Cambridge University Press #2: Cambridge. of typically deciduous trees and shrubs, found primarily on moist s ...

wood, and were often strung together in a

fishing weir A fishing weir, fish weir, fishgarth or kiddle is an obstruction placed in tidal waters, or wholly or partially across a river, to direct the passage of, or trap fish. A weir may be used to trap marine fish in the intertidal zone as the tide reced ...

. Construction of such weirs was outlawed under the terms of

Magna Carta (Medieval Latin for "Great Charter of Freedoms"), commonly called (also ''Magna Charta''; "Great Charter"), is a royal charter of rights agreed to by King John of England at Runnymede, near Windsor, on 15 June 1215. First drafted by the ...

: : ''All fish-weirs shall be removed from the Thames, the Medway, and throughout the whole of England, except on the sea coast.'' However the practice continued unabated, often with adverse effects on navigation. Several islands in the River Thames reflect the presence of bucks at those points; for example,

Buck Ait Buck Ait is an island in the River Thames in Oxfordshire, England. It is on the reach above Shiplake Lock near Sonning. The island is uninhabited and tree-covered. It lies low, acting as a water-meadow in times of flood, opposite houses with l ...

and

Handbuck Eyot Handbuck Eyot or Handbuck Ait is a thin, wooded island in the River Thames in England towards the eastern edge of the villages of Shiplake, Oxfordshire. It is on the reach above Marsh Lock. Description The island is wooded and only accessible by ...

. A surviving eel buck may be seen on the

River Test The River Test is a chalk stream in Hampshire in the south of England. It rises at Ashe near Basingstoke and flows southwards for to Southampton Water. Settlements on the Test include the towns of Stockbridge and Romsey. Below the village o ...

at .

References

{{Trapping Fishing equipment Fishing techniques and methods

See also

References