Everything about The European Eel totally explained
The
European eel,
Anguilla anguilla, is a snake-like, facultatively
catadromous fish, which can reach in exceptional cases a length of 1½
m, but is normally much smaller, about 60–80
cm, and rarely more than 1 m. They are generally believed to spawn in the
Sargasso Sea and the
larvae (
Leptocephalus) migrate towards
Europe in a three-year-long migration. As glass eels they reach the coasts of Europe and enter estuaries. Before entering
fresh water, the glass eels metamorphose into elvers. They spend most of their lives in freshwater, although recent studies on the related
Japanese eels (
Anguilla japonica) show that some populations of that species never migrate into freshwater, but spend their lives in marine or estuarine habitats. Those eels living in freshwater undergo changes in pigmentation; their bellies turn yellow. It is assumed that the yellow-coloring acts as a protection from predators as it makes it harder to visually detect the animals. The
slimy coating of the eel is thought to protect the fish against changes in
salinity.
Since the 1970s, the numbers of eels reaching Europe is thought to have declined by around 90% (possibly even 98%). It is unclear whether this is part of a normal long term cycle, or whether this reflects a decline in eel numbers generally. Potential causes include
overfishing,
parasites such as
Anguillicola crassus, river barriers such as
hydroelectric plants, and natural changes in the
North Atlantic oscillation,
Gulf Stream and the
North Atlantic drift. Recent work suggests that
PCB pollution may be a major factor in the decline .
Eels have been important sources of food both as adults (including the famous
jellied eels of
East London) and as
elvers. Elver fishing using basket traps has been of significant economic value in many river estuaries on the western sea-board of Europe.
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