2024 01 Spring with bleed V4 - Flipbook - Page 26
KEEP YOUR EYES PEELED FOR EELS!
When the Ekins family found a European Eel noundering
on their lawn it inspired Pippa to ond out more about the
mammoth migration that bought it from the far side of the
Atlantic Ocean to a hillside in North Devon!
The European Eel is just one of over 800 species of eel and is currently on
the critically endangered list [IUCN]. Despite their current rare status, there
have been several sightings in the Kings Nympton area, thousands of miles
from their birthplace! 50 years ago, a resident recalls going eel fishing
with an uncle in the pond of a local pub. The unfortunate catch was then
nailed to a tree by it`s head, stripped of it`s skin and cut into pieces still
wriggling! A three pound eel is likely to be 30 years old. Although they
only have limited vision, they also are equipped with sensors on their
heads to detect movement in the water and they can travel overland
through wet grass to get to a stream or pond. Spending up to twenty years
in UK waters, they then head back to the Sargasso Sea to spawn. The
Sargasso Sea is an area of sea within the Atlantic of very calm, clear blue
water with no land boundaries. It sits within an area surrounded by the
North Atlantic current, the Canary Current and the North Atlantic Equatorial
Current and Gulf Stream, which circulate it`s borders. 26 large female eels
were tagged to try and gain more knowledge of the journey they make. It
was discovered that the distances covered can be up to 10,000 Km,
sometimes taking over a year to complete. Once the eels have spawned,
the larvae return to UK and other waters on the current of the North
Atlantic Drift. They then continue to migrate as glass eels into our rivers
Sargasso
Sea
26
Larvae laid in
Sargasso Sea4
carried across the
Atlantic on the
Gulf Stream.
for extra content— www.kingsnymptononline.com/additional-material