Tag: American Eel

Ocean Beauty: Gloucester Sea-Life Viewed from Under Water Video From Eric Swanson

Posted on by Joey Ciaramitaro

30 minute underwater video of Gloucester sea-life: Dolphin, Stripers, Menhaden, Mackerel, Mako Shark, Basking Shark, Halibut, Summer Flounder, Winter Flounder, Sea Robin, Red Fish, Dog Fish, Skates, Silver Hake, Red Hake, Herring, Pollock, Haddock, Cod, Cunner, Squid, American Eel, Sand Eels, Ocean Sunfish, Silversides, Starfish, Giant Poisonous Jellyfish, Seals, Lobster, Spider Crab, Horseshoe Crab, Sand Dollars, Sea Urchins, Sea Scallops, Quahogs, Mussels, Surf Clams, Whelks, Moon Snails, Sea Anemone, Coral, Sponges, and more.

BEAUTIFUL FISH: AMERICAN EEL -By Al Bezanson

Posted on by Kimsmithdesigns

 

American eel; Silver eel; Fresh-water eel; Elver (young) … A tremendous run, in Little River, near Gloucester, on May 5, 1913 .. even working their way up over damp rocks .. so plentiful that he caught 1,500 in one scoop of a small dip net and 545 with a few grabs of his bare hand.  (Welsh)  The life history of the eel is just the antithesis of that of the salmon, shad, and alewife, for eels breed far out at sea, but make their growth either in estuarine situations or in fresh water.  Eels drop wholly out of sight when once they leave shore; no one knows how deep they swim, but they certainly journey out beyond the continental slope into the oceanic basin before depositing their eggs.

More here, in Fishes of the Gulf of Maine by Bigelow and Schroeder, 1953

http://www.gma.org/fogm/Anguilla_rostrata.htm

 

AN OTTERLY DELICIOUS BREAKFAST!

Posted on by Kimsmithdesigns

The North American River Otter is making an amazing comeback, not just on Cape Ann and all around Massachusetts, but in many regions throughout the United States. River Otters need unpolluted wetlands, streams, rivers, and ponds to survive, along with secluded places to den. Hollows in the banks of ponds and rivers make excellent dens and so do former Beaver lodges. As the perpetually-lodge-building Beaver has returned, so has the North American River Otter.

River Otters also need plenty of prey. Locally, they eat fish, frogs, snakes, and EELS!

This summer over in West Gloucester there appeared to be two Otter families, one mama with three pups and another mama with four pups. After watching the romp of Otters eat tadpoles and frogs early in the summer, by midsummer they had graduated to American Eels. I at first could not figure out what they were doing skirmishing around in the tall grass at the pond bank. Compared to diving and resurfacing with a mouthful of frog, this was entirely new behavior. There was much excited chortling when one of the pups caught an eel, which then seemed to set off a chain of eel ambushing and eating. One morning I had the great fun of observing three otter siblings chomping down on an otterly delicious breakfast!

First one pup catches an eel and brings it to the old wooden perch, which is also the otters favorite place to play hide and seek with each other.

Then the second pup, and soon all three were chowing down on eels!

The first one was getting jostled by his siblings and sought out more private room in which to dine.

 

American Eels can grow up to five feet long and weigh as much as 16 pounds. These Eels were about three to four feet long. American Eels spend most of their lives in freshwater and only return to saltwater to spawn and then die.

The pups deftly use their feet to hold fast the slippery eel.

Photographed on a different day, I think this pup is eating a snake. Notice the tapering tail in the above photo. 

Why is clean water so important for River Otters? Pesticides, industrial pollution run off such as polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), and mercury are absorbed by the River Otters prey. The chemicals accumulate in the River Otters, causing illness and death.