September 30, 2010 - An American eel's incredible journeySEPTEMBER 30, 2010
An American eel's incredible
journe
Eels have been a mystery through the ages.
Let's see if we can erase some of that mystery.
American eels are slippery and slimy and
hold little attraction for the average person. I've
caught many eels on a hook when I was looking
for anything but, because once on board an eel
becomes a problem. You can't hold onto it, for it
will slip right through your hands, and because
of the mess the eel makes of your line, you might
as well cut it off and start anew.
However, eels are good eating and are excellen
smoked. Commercially they are caught in eel
Left: This `glass eel; a young
postlarval eel, was found
in the ocean at Hither Hills
State Park, which the small,
transparent eels pass as they
travel from the Sargasso Sea
to coastal freshwater streams
or ponds. There they'll grow
to adult size.
FOCUS ON NATURE
PAUL STOUTENBURGH
STOUTENBURGH PHOTO
speared at night by
fire lighting since
eels are nocturnal
and are out and
about at night. So
let's take a look into
the life history of
this long, narrow,
bony, snake -like fish
we find in our local
waters.
fir,:
us that he has round these glass eels under rocks
along our shores. Because they are transparent
they are not easy to spot, but he says if you look
carefully you will be able to see their movement.
While camping at Hither Hills 20 years ago, oui
It seems. an impossible journey ee s go tnrougn
in their lifetime. The adults leave the freshwater
son's family was able to find one and photograph
it. To get some idea of size, our grandson was just
stream or pond they have lived in for years and
2 years old when he was photographed pointing
head out through the bays or Sound into the salt
at the small glass eel on a dark towel. This glass
water of the ocean on their way to the Sargasso
Sea American few fish
eel, along with others, was probably moving
along the ocean shore searching for its destina-
to mate. eels are one of the
that are catadromous, meaning they spend most
tion of a freshwater stream. If the eel reached
of their lives in fresh water but return to the salt
the stream, it would have spent up to three years
water of the sea to breed.
there before it returned to the Sargasso Sea to
Once in the salt water, the adult eels from
mate. Some say eels can live in the fresh water for
our East Coast head south to the Sargasso Sea
to their spawning grounds. The Sargasso Sea,
up to 10 years before they return.
When glass eels finallv reach the coast and are.
near Bermuda, is surrounded by ocean currents
and is named for sargassum seaweed, _a floating
ready to enter Me fresh water, they metamorpho-
se into a new body shape. These rounder, darker
seaweed that provides a haven for a variety of sea
"sea
eels are called elvers and actually look like eels.
creatures and juvenile fish. It is a without
Elvers are about three inches long when they
shores," bordered on the west by the Gulf Stream
enter the freshwater area. While birding at the
and on the north by the North Atlantic current. It
headwaters of the Peconic River.I observed these
is this current that helps the young eels on their
elvers, now looking like miniature eels, moving
journey back to the freshwater streams or ponds
about in the fresh water.
of their parents, where they grow into adults after
Many years ago an elderly couple lived next
having been born at sea.
door to us, and before they left for Florida each
It is believed that the male dies after reaching
the'Sargasso Sea and mating, and the female dies
ear to spend the winter they would put up jel-
lied eels in jars and carry them with them. We
after laying some 17,000 eggs. Tiny larvae, called
have never tried jellied eels but we do enjoy a
glass eels, hatch from the eggs and drift in the,
good plateful of eels fried and eaten like corn
ocean currents. Glass eels are very thin, ribbon-
like and transparent. It sometimes takes years
on the cob. My favorite way to enjoy an eel is
hen it first comes out of the smoker and is
following the currents before these tiny eel larvae
till warm.
reach the coast of the United States, where they
enter the freshwater streams or ponds. Many are
Below: An eel captured b a
eaten by predators before they ever reach the
great blue heron its an unusual
Fresh water.
sight. Predators of eels are
During their long journey along the coast in
normally larger fish, gulls and
the glass eel stage, some young eels can be found
eagles. The heron flies off
in our local area. Dou Hard of Southold told
to enjoy the slippery eel. I
imagine it was a while before
he went looking for another
meal. These photographs
were taken while birding with
my son at Sills Dairy in Green -
port in 1969.
i
PETER STOUTENBURGH PHOTOS
fir,: