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American Eel

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American Eel
American Eel

(Anguilla rostrate)

STATUS: ThreatenedQuestion mark icon

Canadian origin:

Eastern Canada including the St. Lawrence River, Ottawa River, Gulf of St. Lawrence and off the coast of Newfoundland and Labrador.

Destination:

Sargasso Sea from the Bahamas to Bermuda.

Habitat:

The American eel is a bottom-dwelling catadromous (migrates from fresh water into the sea to spawn) fish found in eastern Canada and United States. They can be found in various habitats, such as streams, rivers and muddy or silt-bottomed lakes during their freshwater stage, as well as oceanic waters, coastal bays and estuaries during their marine stage.

Food sources:

Eels are generalists, which means they will eat almost any small aquatic organism they can, including crustaceans, small fish and insects.

Fun fact:

Eels are nocturnal and therefore feed at night, so they rely on their keen sense of smell to find food.

ASSG. 2014. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2014.3. iucnredlist.org. Downloaded on 28 November 2014. Augmented by life-cycle maps from Department of Fisheries and Oceans: dfo-mpo. gc.ca/species-especes/species-especes/eel-anguille-eng.htm

Flora & Fauna:
Help the Eels

Help the eels

Read More

A Bad Deal for the American Eel

CWF is tagging eels to help conserve their Ottawa River population
By Claire Preston

Read More
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