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eniteris t1_iseinhz wrote

This is pretty big for the European Eel, since it has a long history of confusing humans on how it lives.

Europeans never saw any juvenile eels, or eels spawning, or eel eggs, so they thought they came from earthworms, or spontaneously generated. Eventually it was discovered that eel larvae in the oceans were not a separate species, and in fact transitioned from larva to "glass eels", then to "yellow eels", and finally "silver eels" when they return to the ocean from the continent.

Silver eels also don't have a digestive system and migrate on stored energy alone.

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SuspiciousPebble t1_isekffc wrote

Huh, that's wild. But makes sense, there's quite a few creatures that turned out to be the same, simply at different life-cycle stages or appearing outwardly different depending on location.

Unrelated note - I can never get over this guy on tiktok who built an eel enclosure in his basement. Literally the whole basement floor is flooded with only some stepping stones and underwater lighting, and he just hangs out down there hand feeding his eels haha.

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eniteris t1_iseldei wrote

Barnacle geese were thought to come from barnacles because they breed in the Arctic in the summer, so nobody saw any eggs.

Also so they could be considered fish and eaten on Fridays.

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CrowbarCrossing t1_isfb5sj wrote

"Imagine these birds came from crustaceans - they'd count as fish wouldn't ey?"

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dutchwonder t1_ish50v3 wrote

It helps when your religion doesn't actually have any serious dietary restrictions.

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rich1051414 t1_ishatrv wrote

I always wondered why they didn't classify ducks as fish, but if they had barnacle geese already, why push it?

And before you say "ducks aren't fish, that's ridiculous", they classified beavers as fish...

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BullAlligator t1_isgybso wrote

I always confuse the barnacle goose with the goose barnacle.

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Ferengi_Earwax t1_isfjo0r wrote

Are these the same eels you find in British River systems and wetlands? Or are those freshwater eels and these guys just live in the tidal saltwater marshes?

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eniteris t1_isflmvd wrote

There's another species of eel in Britain, but yes, jellied eels are mostly made from silver eels, and they're critically endangered.

The European Eel/glass eel/yellow eel/silver eel migrates between fresh and saltwater.

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Ferengi_Earwax t1_isfm66j wrote

Thanks. That's unfortunate they are endangered. I remember time team had some eel fisherman go about and demonstrate how they use to catch them. I think I remember them saying how people of the fens had a specific culture and that after most of the fens were drained, their culture and eel fishing mostly died out. There is also the story of king charles and the feather. Supposedly people of the fens had a tradition where if you presented a fen man a goose feather( I think) they would guide you, feed you, and ferry you to safety without questions.

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Ferengi_Earwax t1_isfm6xc wrote

Thanks. That's unfortunate they are endangered. I remember time team had some eel fisherman go about and demonstrate how they use to catch them. I think I remember them saying how people of the fens had a specific culture and that after most of the fens were drained, their culture and eel fishing mostly died out. There is also the story of king charles and the feather. Supposedly people of the fens had a tradition where if you presented a fen man a split goose feather( I think) they would guide you, feed you, and ferry you to safety without questions. https://www.historic-uk.com/CultureUK/Split-Goosefeather/

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stayshiny t1_isfl7ys wrote

Yes, you will find European Eels in British rivers, they migrate from there to the Sargasso Sea, though not all Eels found in those rivers will be the same species that does this.

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Ferengi_Earwax t1_isfleaz wrote

Thanks, very interesting. I remember hearing about the strange beliefs people had about eels in manuscripts from the middle ages. They ate alot of eels.

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stayshiny t1_isfmvh6 wrote

There's a lot of great history in literature and Eels - they inspired a lot of monster stories and still do now!

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Ferengi_Earwax t1_isfn1a3 wrote

They sure do and you can still see why! Lampreys look terrifying.

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EndoShota t1_iseo5uw wrote

> …despite the passage of almost 100 years since Johannes Schmidt proposed the Sargasso Sea as the breeding place of European eels on the basis of larval surveys, no eggs or spawning adults have ever been sampled there to confirm this… We attached satellite tags to 26 eels from rivers in the Azores archipelago and tracked them for periods between 40 and 366 days at speeds between 3 and 12 km day−1, and provide the first direct evidence of adult European eels reaching their presumed breeding place in the Sargasso Sea.

I knew this has been a long running mystery, and it’s wonderful to hear that it’s finally solved. I love when modern technology gets employed to verify the work of scientists long passed.

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HIGHestKARATE t1_isf8hay wrote

"The Sargasso Sea is a region of the Atlantic Ocean bounded by four currents forming an ocean gyre. Unlike all other regions called seas, it has no land boundaries."

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Mbwakalisanahapa t1_islvw91 wrote

Back in the 70s I was becalmed for 10 days in a small yacht on the southern end of the gyre. Lots of weed and fish, if it wasn’t for the sun it would have been fun. Everything used the weed for shade. I claim I saw a very large dragonfly, over 10 cm, no phone cameras back then.

we also spent two whole days drifting through salt pickled human turds every few meters as far as the eye could see, all around.

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xyzqvc t1_isf3n7v wrote

Perhaps next we can figure out how to save European eels from extinction, adult numbers are dangerously low. So low that you shouldn't actually catch or eat them anymore.

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Serious_Guy_ t1_isixzmr wrote

If it's anything like the New Zealand species of eels, it's largely the loss of habitat from land being drained for farming and rivers being blocked by dams for hydropower that have made them endangered, not overfishing.

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xyzqvc t1_isiym4l wrote

Habitat loss is the main problem. It just doesn't help if we eat up the few remaining eels before they can breed.

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Serious_Guy_ t1_isj5t6x wrote

Yeah, it's a shame. I have fond memories of catching and eating eels as a kid. They were everywhere. I would never catch one now.

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xyzqvc t1_isj88rt wrote

The beasts have torn more than one fishing line for me. As delicious as they are, they are difficult to catch. If they break the line with plumb bob you can start all over to gauge the depth of the water. These are smart fish, they eat the bait off your hook and you don't notice. There used to be so many eels that they were poor people's food. If things went well you could catch a dozen in a few hours of bottom fishing. Today I could sit there for a week and not catch a single eel. Another species that will soon only appear in books.

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stayshiny t1_isfllcw wrote

There was a decent Sci Fi book by Steve Alten (writer of the Meg, turned into a movie by idiots) called 'The Loch' which describes the Loch Ness monster as an Anguilla Eel that was unable to complete its migratory spawning journey to the Sargasso Sea and grew to massive sizes.

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Thomo251 t1_isfi48i wrote

We have specialised (depending on who you ask) equipment in front of our river intake pumps, which simply call eel screens, to prevent any eels being sucked up through the pumps.

They were installed before I started working there, but I understand that it was requested by the Environment Agency in order to protect these eels and other river inhabitants.

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[deleted] t1_isfybpv wrote

“and has suffered a 95% decline in recruitment since the 1980s” do they have to go round convincing other species to be a European eel?

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ChaBoiFletch t1_isfpmn4 wrote

I saw a video explaining that no one knew where eels came from. Even Sigmund Freud dissected countless eels in an attempt to locate their reproductive organs, except he couldn’t find any. There was a theory that they came from the area in the ocean where the currents carry all the garbage that makes it’s way into the water. Unsure where that is in relation to the Sargasso Sea. It is true that people thought they spontaneously appeared, or were created with rainwater and mud. Strange water worms.

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mrchaotica t1_ish7923 wrote

> There was a theory that they came from the area in the ocean where the currents carry all the garbage that makes it’s way into the water. Unsure where that is in relation to the Sargasso Sea.

Exactly the same place, because sargassum is carried by currents the same way the garbage is.

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ChaBoiFletch t1_isif7ef wrote

Interesting, I was just about hoping this was the case. Now to figure out the effects that the garbage has had on the eel ecosystem.

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flightless_mouse t1_ishc7sq wrote

I very highly recommend Patrik Svensson’s book “The Book of Eels: Our Enduring Fascination with the Most Mysterious Creature in the Natural World.” It delves into the mysteries surrounding eels, and their cultural significance over the ages. Part nature writing, part memoir, part history. Great book!

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redbicycleblues t1_isi34in wrote

Second this recommendation. I actually own a copy I loved it so much!

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ranaloco t1_isgznln wrote

Freud would be so happy

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JasonWalton1918 t1_isixiir wrote

Forgive my nit-picky nerd rage, but...

The depth key for Figure 1C looks like it was hastily made, considering 2/5 of it is white. What color is 500M? White. What color is 1000M? Also white. 2500M? Still white! Is the Mid-Atlantic Ridge near the top of Figure 1C 2000M below sea level or 0M below? Considering the fact that the depth failsafe is 1400M (which is white!), one would think they'd have a more detailed depth key.

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Miserable-Hornet-518 t1_isjl4d1 wrote

Damn - why they gotta make it hot? All this time and now they have to set up a new Champagne Room. Buzzkill.

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Stugna-P-kills t1_isemd01 wrote

BBQ eel is one of my favorite foods... Yum

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