What kind of fish is a black eel? river eel

Eel - too much common name possessing a number of characteristics of ray-finned fish, which form an entire order - Eels (lat. Anguilliformes).

General description of acne

All eels are characterized by a serpentine body shape. Their body gradually narrows towards the tail; in some representatives of the order it is not flattened laterally, that is, round in diameter, which makes them even more like snakes. And their movement in water is like a snake’s: while swimming, a wave with a constant amplitude passes through their body, whereas in ordinary fish this amplitude increases towards the tail. This method of swimming does not allow them to achieve high speeds of movement, but it allows them to save a lot of energy.

Their body is not covered with scales, but with skin, the surface of which contains mucus.

Eels do not have pelvic fins, which is why they are also called legless.

Their fins are soft, without spines or hard rays, and often merge with the caudal fins, running like a fringe along the entire body. As for pectoral fins, many species lack them.

The swim bladder is reduced, fused with the intestine.

Eels have small teeth in their mouths.

The gill slits are very narrow, and gill rakers are completely absent.

Eels have a lot of vertebrae (in some species up to 260), and may lack ribs.

Many eels contain ichthyotoxins in the blood - toxic substances that, when released into the blood of warm-blooded animals, destroy red blood cells. When eel serum is injected into the blood, a warm-blooded animal will die, and the symptoms will be almost the same as with a viper bite. Moreover, the same ichthyotoxins are contained in the blood of fish that are familiar to us - tuna, carp and tench. Why don't we die after eating them? The thing is that these toxins are destroyed in the stomach. But if they get on abrasions, it can cause painful inflammation. In addition, during heat treatment, ichthyotoxins are destroyed; for this, only +58 o C is enough, that is, frying and boiling leaves no trace of them.

Eels are a very representative group of fish, numbering 22 families, including about 350 species. Eels located in different taxonomic groups may be completely different from each other. Compare, for example, the moray eel and the well-known river eel. A significant part of eels live in the seas of subtropical and tropical zones, although some species are found at great depths, where the water temperature is slightly above zero degrees. Only eels are freshwater, or as they are also naturally called, Freshwater eels (lat. Anguillidae).

Not all representatives of eels are suitable for food, but only representatives of some families: Anguillidae, Muraenidae and Congridae. Let's look at some representatives of these families.

Also known as the Atlantic conger, or simply conger (lat. Conger conger). Lives in the eastern part of the Atlantic Ocean from the Bay of Biscay to West Africa. Frequent in the Mediterranean Sea, sometimes found in the North Sea up to the Faroe Islands and south coast Norway. There were cases of capture even in the Black Sea.

Description of the conger eel

It is one of the largest representatives of the eel order. Females are twice as large as males; adult individuals often reach a length of 2.4-3.0 m with a weight of up to 100 kg and more. Males do not exceed 1.3 m in length, and usually their sizes are even more modest. The conger eel reaches 20 cm in diameter.

This fish has a very large, slightly flattened head and a large mouth with thick lips. Each jaw has two rows of teeth: the external teeth form closed rows of incisors and perform a cutting function; the internal teeth are small, like spikes. There are also larger conical teeth on the palate and vomer.

The body of the conger eel is covered with skin, the back is dark gray or brown, the belly is golden or light brown.

Conger Eel Lifestyle

Sea eel It is found both off the coast and in the open sea. It thrives both in shallow water and at depths of up to 500 m. In the Ionian Sea, the conger eel is found at depths of up to 1171 m.

All descriptions of the conger eel indicate that it is a predator. Its diet includes cod, pollock and silver pollock, various crustaceans and cephalopods.

Puberty occurs at the age of 5-15 years (such a wide range is explained by living conditions, primarily by the food supply). Spawning occurs in the summer in the eastern part of the Atlantic and in the Mediterranean Sea, at enormous depths - over 3000 m. The conger eel spawns once in its life, after spawning the fish dies. One female lays from 3 to 8 million eggs. Pelagic caviar, small. The eggs hatch into larvae, which in eels are called leptocephali. Until they reach a length of 16 cm, they drift in the surface layers of water (1-2 years).

Sea eel in cooking

The conger eel is a valuable commercial fish. The annual global catch of this fish in the best years reaches 20 thousand tons. They catch it with bottom trawls and longlines.

Sea eel reaches store shelves both chilled and frozen. It has very tasty meat, which is especially good when smoked. Often conger eel is used to make canned food.

River eels (lat. Anguilla) are a genus of eels with 19 species, also belonging to the family Acne. Found in temperate and tropical waters of the North Atlantic, western Pacific Ocean and in the Indian Ocean.

Description of river eels

River eels have everything characteristic features eel-like appearance (see above).

IN at a young age females differ from males by having a wider head, but as representatives of both sexes mature, their heads become narrow. Adults are brownish in color and have yellow sides. Sexually mature eels are easily recognized by their dark back and metallic sheen on their bellies and sides.

Lifestyle of river eels

The larvae of river eels, also called leptocephali, are shaped like a willow leaf. What is interesting is that as leptocephals develop, their length does not increase, but decreases, and when leptocephals are turned into fry, the latter turn out to be one and a half times shorter than the former.

The fry enter rivers and lakes and grow there until sexual maturity, leading a predatory lifestyle. They hunt only at night. As soon as they have puberty, they roll into the sea and go to spawn at a very greater depth. So it is possible to call river eels river with a certain degree of convention.

River eels in cooking

All species of this genus are subject to commercial fishing. Their catch is increasing every year, which makes us wary various organizations on nature conservation. In this regard, some countries have taken up aquaculture of river eels.

The most famous species of eel in Russia is the common river eel. Let's get to know him better.

Common river eel

Sometimes it is simply called the river eel (Latin: Anguilla anguilla), and also the European eel, the common eel, and the common river eel. river eel due to poaching he was on the verge complete disappearance, therefore it was included in the International Red Book (2008), which, however, has not yet made it scarce (eel is easy to get in European stores). The main part of the population lives in the reservoirs of the Baltic Sea basin, a smaller part - in the rivers and lakes of the White, Barents, Black, Azov and Caspian seas. It is found in most rivers and large lakes of the European part of Russia.

The river eel is able to crawl on grass, as long as it is damp (after rain or dew). Thus, he can move from one body of water to another. This is how he populated all the drainless lakes.

Description of the river eel

The color of the river eel varies greatly. Juveniles are dark green, olive or gray-brown in color, they lack any markings, the belly is yellow or yellowish. white. In adults, the belly becomes silvery-white.

The body is very elongated: with a length of up to 2 meters, the river eel weighs no more than 4 kg.

Larvae of river eels (leptocephali) up to 7.6 cm in size.

Rest morphological characteristics river eels are characteristic of all eels.

Lifestyle of the river eel

The river eel is a typical migratory fish. It spends most of its life in freshwater bodies of water and spawns in the sea. In fresh water bodies it prefers quiet backwaters, but is sometimes found in places with fast currents. The depth of fresh water bodies is not of fundamental importance for the habitat of the river eel, just as the nature of the soil is unimportant for it, the main thing is that there are many secluded shelters in the reservoir (burrows, boulders, snags, thick algae).

It is a typical predator, and a nocturnal one, although if the prey is right in front of its nose, it will grab it at any time of the day. It prefers to hunt in shallow water, eating small fish, frogs, mollusks, and insect larvae.

To spawn, the European river eel makes a migration that is crazy in length - up to 8 thousand km from its feeding grounds. Moreover, most of the river eels go to the Sargasso Sea to spawn, where the temperature upper layers The water is heated to 17-18 o C. Having reached this sea, it goes to a depth of 400 m, spawns and immediately dies. One female leaves up to 500 thousand eggs and even more. The leptocephali hatched from the larvae are shaped like a willow leaf, almost transparent, only the eyes are black. The larvae are so different from the adults that they were once considered a separate species of fish. After hatching, they float to the upper layers of the water and drift for several warm waters Gulf Stream to the shores of Europe. By the end of such migration, leptocephals reach a length of 8 cm and a height of 1 cm, then they stop feeding, shorten to 5-6 cm in length and degenerate into a transparent (“glass”) eel. At this stage, eels enter river mouths. As they rise upstream, they lose transparency and when they get to feeding grounds, they are not much different in appearance from their adult relatives, except perhaps in size.

The European eel spends 9-12 years in rivers and then goes to spawn. By the way, scientists still don’t know exactly how the river eel navigates. There are only two hypotheses: 1) according to currents, 2) according to magnetic field Earth.

Common river eel in cooking

The European eel is a fish that is highly valued in cooking, and therefore is the object of fishing, both industrial and sports, and amateur. Its annual global catch is 8-10 thousand tons. The easiest way to catch an eel is with regular hook and line gear, although it is possible to use a variety of traps.

European eel meat is soft and very tasty. It is fried, pickled, smoked. Fish soups made from eel are considered the most delicious dishes.

Eel caught on an industrial scale is partially used to make canned food, the most famous of which in Russia is “Eel in Jelly.”

Nutritional value of river eel (per 100 g)

The nutritional value

Macronutrients

Useful properties of eel

Eel meat is a very nutritious food product. Its calorie content is approximately the same as that of fatty pork. But eel is better than fatty pork, if only because most of its fats consist of unsaturated fatty acids, and therefore will not cause harm to the body. Such fat will not increase the level of “bad” cholesterol in the blood. Still, people who tend to be overweight should not overeat on eel.

Eel is rich in protein, which contains all the essential amino acids. Therefore, eel is indicated for physical exhaustion, high physical activity and as part of recovery (after severe operations) diets.

Eel contains a lot of omega-3 fatty acids, which prevent the development of many cardiovascular diseases, especially atherosclerosis.

The Japanese love eel because, in their opinion, it helps relieve fatigue in extreme heat and thus helps to better tolerate extreme high temperatures. It is noteworthy that Japan has the most high price for eel dishes at the height of summer. Moreover, at this time of year, the Japanese cook eel on the grill.

Eel is very rich in various vitamins, especially vitamins A and E. In terms of vitamin A content, eel is a record holder among food products. Who doesn’t know, vitamin A improves vision, the condition of epithelial tissues, skin, hair and nails. The only thing comparable to it is cod liver. It also contains a lot of vitamin E, and this vitamin is a powerful antioxidant, therefore it slows down the aging process.

Harm to the river eel

Not very large quantities You should eat eel if you are overweight (high calorie content!). Due to its high fat content, it is contraindicated for diseases of the liver and gallbladder, as well as for chronic gastritis.

Eel is an allergen, so it is contraindicated for asthma and a high tendency to allergic reactions.

Superclass: Pisces = Pisces

Class: Osteichthyes = Bony fish

Family: Congridae Kaup = Conger eels

SEA EEL (Conger conger) or conger, which from the North Atlantic enters the Mediterranean, Black and Baltic seas. The northernmost point of its settlement is the waters off the coast of Norway. The sea eel is larger than the river eel, it reaches 65 kg in weight and over 3 m in length. Its leptocephali are very similar to river eel larvae, but reach 16 cm in length; they were described as Leptocephalus morrisi.

Apparently, like the river eel, it spawns once in its life and, having spawned from 3 to 8 million eggs, dies. The places and timing of its spawning have not been precisely established. It differs from the river eel in having a longer dorsal fin and a complete absence of scales. The color of the conger eel is brown, turning into a dirty white color on the belly. The dorsal and anal fins are light, bordered by a dark stripe. A light lateral line clearly protrudes on the sides.

The conger eel is a voracious predator that feeds mainly on small and average size fish. Its powerful teeth easily crush mollusk shells. We have repeatedly observed how conger eels snatched fish entangled in them from nets. Favorite places its habitat is rocky shores, where it usually watches for prey, hiding somewhere in an underwater grotto or rock crevice. On the sandy bottom, it digs a hole for itself, just as the river eel sometimes does. Wherever conger eels are found in sufficient quantities, they are caught using hook and line gear - longlines and fishing rods baited with fish. Its meat is not as fatty and tasty as that of river eel, and in Europe it is valued much lower. In contrast, conger eels, which live off the coast North America, are considered one of the most valuable fish.

Sea eel

An adult conger eel can reach quite large sizes, but, despite his size, he is very careful and even timid. And at the very first signals of danger, the eel instantly breaks away from the place where it was disturbed and hides in a reliable shelter. At the same time, this fish is very curious, and fishermen take advantage of this at night, when it swims out from its daytime shelter in search of food. And if you manage to catch him, then be prepared to fight a worthy opponent. Even if hooked, a conger eel can sink to the bottom and hide in a shelter, breaking your gear, as it is very strong...

The body color of a conger eel depends on the depth of its habitat. Most individuals have a dark body background, with a smoky gray back and a paler, silvery-yellow belly. Deep sea fish have a sharp and hard dorsal fin. But it’s difficult to see the eel’s teeth, since they are located on inside powerful fish jaws. The conger eel moves mainly at medium depths. Most often it hunts at the bottom. Small fish become victims of the eel. If you want to catch a large eel, then go fishing on a boat in the underwater reef area. Interestingly, sea eels reproduce once in a lifetime. This happens near the Madeira Islands, in the deepest places. A spawning eel lays up to 15 million eggs. The eggs are transported to the continental shelf by the slow North Atlantic Current.

Commercial fishing for large eels is difficult and ineffective. This is due to the fact that eels live deep at the bottom, hiding among underwater debris. Therefore, large fish, weighing more than 45 kg, live in relative peace. Smaller eels can even be caught from the shore. It is better to do this at night, since at night these predators approach the shore in search of food. For fishing, choose rocky places or rocky ravines.

Sea eels are good to catch in the Atlantic Ocean and North Sea at any time of the year, although July to October are best. In nature, its natural diet consists of small fish such as cod or sea bream, as well as different kinds lobsters, squids and small octopuses. The best places Underwater ruins and littered areas of the seabed are used for catching eels. Freshly caught fry of mackerel, a delicacy for eels, is ideal as bait for catching eels.

Life underwater world has always attracted people with its variety of colors and amazing abilities their inhabitants adapt to existence in different conditions.

One of the most interesting fish living in the underwater fauna is the eel. Main feature This fish is considered by its appearance: the body of the eel is elongated, very reminiscent of a snake.

The eel spends most of its life in fresh water, but goes to sea to spawn, which has also been a mystery to humans for a long time.

Appearance of fish

Because of the very long body This invertebrate animal is not eaten in many places and is not considered a fish. Only the eel's tail is slightly flattened on the sides, and the body is completely cylindrical. The head is small in size and slightly flattened. Some zoologists divide eels into different species based on the shape of the nose, which can be more or less long and wide. The lower jaw of the fish is slightly longer than the upper, and both contain many sharp and small teeth.

The eyes have a yellowish-silver tint and are small in size. The gill cavity is not completely covered by the cover due to the fact that the openings themselves are very narrow and strongly shifted from the back of the head. The dorsal and anal fins have a rather long shape and are combined into a single fin along with the caudal fin. The pectoral fins are well developed, but the abdominal fins are completely absent.

At first glance, the eel's body appears naked, but after removing the thick mucus, you can see the highly elongated scales that cover its entire surface. Depending on its habitat, the color of the fish can be bluish-black or dark green. The belly color is yellow-white or bluish-gray.

Types of acne

The eel family includes several species that are not very different from each other external signs, but have great differences in habitat. From this diversity three types can be distinguished:

Habitat

Eel is one of the ancient fish on Earth, which appeared more than a hundred million years ago. It was sea ​​view which was discovered in the ocean off the coast of Indonesia. It is now widespread in seas, lakes and rivers, which are the intermediate place of their stay. The largest number of these invertebrates inhabit river basins connected to the seas:

This fish tries to avoid places with a rocky or sandy bottom, and prefers to live on clayey soils covered with mud. In the summer, it likes to crawl between sedges and reeds. It is active at night, and prefers to be quiet during the day.

An amazing feature of the eel is considered to be the ability to crawl from one body of water to another on land, and over considerable distances. Thus, it ends up in closed lakes. The presence of skin that can absorb oxygen and allows the eel to survive for some time without water. It has been noticed that during such migration the fish tries to move along the grassy surface directly to the reservoir. Moreover, the direction of movement of the individuals changed only when they encountered bare ground or sand.

There are eels in the rivers keeps quiet and deep places . With a large rise in water, it is often found in pools even in daytime.

Nutrition and behavioral characteristics

The eel fish is a carnivorous invertebrate animal whose diet includes:

• worms;
• small fish;
• snails;
• frogs;
• caviar of other fish;
• larvae;
• shellfish;
• newts.

In reservoirs where tench and pike live, you can find large concentrations of eels, since these fish are their favorite delicacy. During the abundant spawning of carp fish, he happily eats their eggs.

Being predatory fish, eel leads night image life. The young live in coastal zone, but adult individuals try to go deep to the bottom, burrowing into the ground up to 80 cm.

As evening approaches, the eel leaves its shelters and begins searching for food. Animals, moving slowly, swim up to thickets of aquatic plants located near the coastal zone. Invertebrates have poor vision, but thanks to their excellent sense of smell, they can perfectly sense their prey from several meters away and easily navigate in complete darkness.

With the onset of cold weather, the fish falls into a motionless state and appearance resembles frozen driftwood that sticks out of the ground.

Features of reproduction

Another amazing feature of eels is the reproduction process, which has long remained a mystery to humans. Only at the end of the 20th century were scientists able to prove that this process occurs like in all other fish. What confused the scientists was that the eggs were completely different from their parents. Even at first they were classified as a separate species of fish.

Adult individuals become capable of reproduction only at 7–9 years of age, when sexual differences between females and males begin to appear. To spawn, eels go into the sea to a depth of 400 meters, where females, at a water temperature of 14-18℃, lay up to 500 thousand eggs up to one millimeter in size. The shape of the larvae resembles willow leaves, compressed from the sides, while being absolutely transparent.

Before they mature, the larvae go through several stages:

1. After floating to the surface of the sea they are picked up warm current and move to the shores of the European continent. The duration of this period is approximately three years, during which the annual growth of larvae is very small.
2. At the next stage, when the larva reaches a size of 7 cm, it decreases by one centimeter and the formation of a glass eel occurs.
3. At this time, the fish begin to acquire a snake-like oval shape, but at the same time remain transparent.
4. It is in this form that small fish approach river mouths. Further, moving upstream, they acquire the color of an adult fish.

After living in rivers for about 9-12 years, the eel again migrates to the sea to reproduce. After which the inevitable death of the individual occurs.

The reproduction of the electric eel is considered an even more mysterious process, since this type of marine fauna has not been fully studied. It is only known that the fish goes deep to the bottom to spawn and returns as fully grown offspring, capable of emitting electrical charges.

Subtleties of fishing

Considering that the river eel is a predatory fish, choosing bait for catching it is not very difficult. Worms, pieces of meat, small fish serve an excellent remedy to attract the eel's attention. If you use worms as bait, then there should be a lot of them at once, but the eel bites much more willingly on one large worm.

Very good results can be achieved by fishing with live bait, but it is advisable to use fish from the same reservoir where the eels live.

The best bait is:

• roach;
• rudd;
• white bream;
• bleak.

Live bait should be 3-5 cm in size. It is possible to use dead fish.

To improve the bite, a few days before the start of fishing, you need to feed the eel with a mixture of small fish and chopped worms. Complementary foods per day fishing It's not worth doing.

The time from mid-May to early June is considered the most favorable for successful fishing, since after hibernation the fish grabs any bait. But in the summer and autumn months you will have to use heavier bait - meat or small fish. The night is best time days for eel fishing. The bite is especially good during a thunderstorm.

But not only knowledge of the most attractive baits is the key to successful fishing, it is necessary to pay Special attention and to improve the actions of the fisherman. So, when fishing with a worm or a small fish, you need to hook it immediately after the bite. But if the bait is pieces of dead or large fish, then you need to hook when it bites again. First, the predator swims away to turn over the prey in its mouth, only then swallows it.

The eel is a very dexterous and resourceful fish. She is able to cling to various items and branches at the bottom of the reservoir, resist and back away, so it can be very difficult to pull out a caught individual. You won’t be able to take it with your hand; you need to use a large net, and the tail should not hang down, otherwise the fish will escape. You can remove the eel from the hook only after you have transferred it to the net.

It is very difficult to hold a caught eel in your hands, as it is abundantly covered with mucus. He is also very difficult to kill. He dies quickly only after a spinal fracture.

The meat of the European eel is very tasty and soft. It can be smoked, fried and pickled. In many foreign restaurants, smoked delicacy eel is often served as the main course.

Eel is not an ordinary fish. Externally similar to a snake, it has a cylindrical shape, only the tail is slightly compressed from the sides. The head is small, slightly flattened, the mouth is small (compared to other predators), with small sharp teeth. The eel's body is covered with a layer of mucus, under which small, delicate, oblong scales are found. The back is brown or black, the sides are much lighter, yellow, and the belly is yellowish or white.

Eels come in both freshwater and saltwater varieties. Appearing on Earth more than 100 million years ago, first in the Indonesian region, the eel also began to live in the Japanese archipelago - especially in Lake Hamanaka (Shizuoka Prefecture).

This creature is very tenacious, capable of living even without water with a small amount of moisture. There are currently 18 species of eel in the world.

The river eel is an anadromous fish, but unlike sturgeon and salmon, which go from the seas to rivers to spawn, the eel goes from fresh water bodies to the ocean to spawn. Only in the 20th century was it possible to discover that eel breeds in the deep and warm Sargasso Sea, which, being a gulf of the Atlantic, washes the shores of North America and the islands of Central America. The eel spawns only once in its life, and after spawning all adult fish die.

Eels feed only in warm weather, mainly at night; during the day they burrow into the ground, exposing only their heads. With the onset of frost, they stop feeding until spring. Eels love to feast on various small animals living in the mud: crustaceans, worms, larvae, snails.

Willingly eats the eggs of other fish. After four to five years in fresh water, the eel becomes a nocturnal ambush predator.

Eats small ruffs, perches, roaches, smelt, etc., that is, fish that live at the bottom of reservoirs.

Useful properties of eel

Having reached sexual maturity, eels rush along rivers and canals into the ocean. At the same time, they often end up in hydraulic structures, which can even cause emergency situations.

But most eels avoid obstacles by crawling like snakes some part of the way on land. The taste qualities of eel are well known. It can be boiled, fried, pickled and even dried. But it is especially good when smoked. It is a delicacy served at the most sophisticated banquets and receptions.. Eel meat contains about 30% high-quality fats, about 15% proteins, a complex of vitamins and mineral elements. Eel contains a large amount of vitamins,,,, and. The high protein content of eel meat has a beneficial effect on the human body.

Few people know that in Japan, the popularity of eel meat increases closer to summer, since eel helps relieve fatigue in the heat and helps the Japanese to better tolerate hot weather.

summer period

Fish fat

, contained in conger eel meat, prevents the development of cardiovascular diseases.

In addition to its incomparable taste, sea eel is a source of Omega-3 fatty acids, as well as sodium and potassium, which are essential for health. Eel contains a high content of vitamin E, so in hot weather the Japanese love to eat the so-called eel kebab. Smoked eel also contains a large amount of vitamin A, which prevents eye diseases and skin aging.

Separately, we can note the usefulness of smoked eel for men - the substances contained in eel have a beneficial effect on men's health.

Acne is contraindicated in cases of individual intolerance.

In addition, this fish is not recommended to be consumed in large quantities if you are overweight. Acne - this wonderful fish at first glance resembles a snake, and therefore in our country in many places it is not even considered a fish and is not eaten. Although in our conditions acne

is considered a marketable commercial fish when it reaches a weight of 500 g. The eel reaches this weight in about 6-8 years.

Eel meat contains about 30% high-quality fats, about 15% proteins, a complex of vitamins and mineral elements. Many different dishes are prepared from it. Smoked eel is considered a delicacy.

Description

The common or European eel (lat. Anguilla anguilla) is a species of predatory freshwater fish from the family of river eels.

The body of the eel is elongated, serpentine, more or less rounded in the front part, and laterally compressed from the anus to the tail. The eel is covered with a layer of thick mucus, making it very slippery. The dorsal, caudal and anal fins form a ribbon-like border that covers more than half the length of the fish. The rays of all fins are protected by skin. The pectoral fins are wide, but short, and the ventral fins are absent. The scales are very small, almost hidden in the skin, extending to the head and fins. The head is small, conical, somewhat flattened. It gradually passes into the torso; it can be distinguished from the latter only by its gill slits. The eyes are located above the corners of the mouth, small. The lower jaw protrudes forward and upward. The lips are fleshy. On jaws and other bones oral cavity

There are numerous small teeth.

The color of eels changes with age and depends on the nature of the body of water in which they live, as well as on the individual characteristics of each individual. Eels that have not reached sexual maturity have a dark green or dark brown, sometimes black, back color. The sides are painted yellow in various shades. The belly is yellow or white. Adult rolling eels have a dark brown or black back, grayish-white sides, and a white belly. The body of these eels has a metallic sheen, which is why they are sometimes called silver eels.

Distribution and habitats The eel lives in the reservoirs of the Baltic Sea basin, in much smaller numbers - in the rivers and lakes of the Azov, Black, White, Barents seas

. Found in many reservoirs of the European part of Russia.

Distribution and habitats of the eel In the CIS most often found in water bodies of the Baltic Sea basin. It penetrates through channels into other basins. Its glassy larvae invade lakes and ponds. On the territory of Ukraine, eels can be found in the lower reaches of the Danube and Southern Bug, in the Dnieper basin, but most often in the lakes of the Pripyat and Western Bug basins.

Electric eel has a very limited habitat. It is found only in South America. The electric eel is found in the northeastern part of this continent. It is concentrated in the lower reaches of the Amazon.

The conger eel is distributed in the Atlantic Ocean, ranging from the western part of the African continent to the Bay of Biscay, located in the Mediterranean. Rarely found in other ocean areas. Sometimes the fish swims into the North Sea as far as southern Norway. It is also rare in the Black Sea. The conger eel can live both in the open sea and off the coast; the fish does not go deeper than 500 meters.

Eel growth and spawning

In the reservoirs of Russia, where the growth of the eel has been studied, its body size increases rapidly during the first 8-9 years of life, later the growth rate decreases. If, for example, in the first 9 years the fish reached an average length of 83 cm, giving an annual increase of about 9 cm, then over the next 14 years they added only 14 cm in length, i.e. their annual increase averaged 1 cm. Weight increases most from the second year, in some lakes later, and continues to increase until 13-15 years, and then decreases noticeably. Eels of the same age grow at different rates not only in different bodies of water, but also in the same body of water. In the lakes of the Volyn and Rivne regions, eels reach a length of 80-100 cm, and their weight is often 2.5-3 kg. In the waters of Belarus there are eels up to 115 cm long and weighing up to 3 kg. Males are smaller than females. Their length does not exceed 50 cm, and their weight is 250 g.

When eels reach sexual maturity in the seventh to ninth year of life, they tend to leave fresh waters and go to sea. The spawning grounds of the eel are located in the southern part of the Atlantic Ocean in accumulations of Sargassum algae, forming the so-called Sargasso Sea among the ocean expanses. Here, at a depth of 400-500 m in April - May, eels spawn and die. At the end of winter - at the beginning of spring, leaf-shaped, completely transparent eel larvae hatch from the eggs. Growing up, they slowly rise to the upper layers of the water and are picked up by surface currents, which carry some to the shores of America, while others are carried to the shores by the Gulf Stream Western Europe. By the autumn of the third year of drift, the larvae reach an average length of 7.5 cm. Already off the coast of Europe, the body of the larvae becomes rounded, the larval teeth are replaced by real ones, the dorsal and anal fins move forward. Certain areas of the skin darken, although the fish are still transparent. Such a larva is called a vitreous eel, and at this stage of development it enters fresh waters, where it lives for about 9-15 years, and according to some reports even up to 25 years. In the northern hemisphere, in river deltas and bays of the Atlantic Ocean, glassy eels are caught and stocked in fresh water bodies.

Lifestyle

Eel lifestyle

Eel is an unpretentious fish. He can live in bodies of water various types. According to its lifestyle, it can be classified as a nocturnal bottom fish. During the day it is more in the ground than above the ground. The eel's habitat changes with age. In the first years of life in fresh water, young eels stay mainly in the coastal zone overgrown with vegetation. They do not burrow deep into the ground, like adult fish. As they get older, eels move from the coastal zone to deeper muddy, often littered areas of the reservoir and can burrow into the ground to a depth of 80 cm or more. At night, eels colonize the entire water area of ​​the reservoir, entering coastal zone, and in the thickets aquatic plants, but places with a hard rocky bottom are avoided.

Eels move snake-like, relatively slowly. When in danger, they quickly bury themselves in the mud or hide in various shelters. In damp places, acne can long time live without water. They are able to move on grass, especially on dew or after rain, and even on wet gravel or cobblestones, but on land they move short distances. Therefore, the statement that eels can graze in coastal gardens at night, hunting for peas, is apparently erroneous and is not confirmed by special observations.

The most suitable bodies of water for eel habitat include reservoirs, large ponds and slow-flowing rivers. The main necessary conditions for its habitat are a relatively high oxygen content in the water and the presence of food sources. Calm water, muddy bottom, shallow waters overgrown with aquatic vegetation, as well as the presence large quantity trash fish, mosquito larvae and other insects - this is an ideal place for an eel to live. Its activity manifests itself only in the twilight hours, when it goes hunting. The eel does not have good eyesight Therefore, its main guide is the phenomenal sense of smell; it is this that allows you to sense prey tens of meters around and navigate in space in pitch darkness. The eel is a heat-loving fish, so it shows vital activity only in the warm season. In central Russia this is the period from mid-May to mid-September. In autumn, when the water temperature drops, the vital activity of this fish decreases accordingly. When the water temperature drops to 9-11 degrees, eels stop feeding and go into suspended animation (hibernation). They burrow into the silt, hide in snags, stones and other shelters, from where they do not emerge until spring.

The river eel, being a predator, comes out to feed at night. During the spawning of other fish species, he feeds on their eggs, and his favorite caviar is carp. But the serpentine predator also feeds on small fish (lamreys, sculpins), newts and frogs. Sometimes the food becomes larvae, snails, crustaceans and worms.

Eel fishing

Eel fishing

Excellent eel catches at night as this is the main feeding time, but this is not a strict rule. Fishing for eels can be successful even during the day if the bait provided is located near their places of residence. In summer, it is also active during the daytime.

The eel avoids light during the day. Cloud cover and muddy water contribute to perfect fishing. When choosing a place for fishing on lakes, it is best to choose an area adjacent to wide areas of aquatic vegetation.