Conger eel encounter

[rawls]

I was diving Saturday on the Spar. The Spar was a Coast Guard buoy tender and was sunk a couple of years ago in my home waters off of Beaufort, NC as part of the artificial reef project. I was inside the wreck in the engine room section then ascended to the mid decks via a ladder. All of a sudden I saw an eel scurrying by me going down the ladder. I thought it was a moray at first. It disappeared below only to show back up again and follow me around the inside of the wreck. It was a huge eel...Then I saw its head and knew it wasn't a moray. I didn't know what kind of eel it was. At one point I stopped and hovered above it and it was a couple of feet below me looking at me. I wasn't fearful throughout the dive but got a little nervous when I was hovering above it. I then exited the wreck and headed for the anchor line. When I got back onboard the boat I described the eel and was told it was a Conger eel. It was about 5 feet in length with a very wide girth.
I got home and pulled up info on the eel and came across a story of a biologist getting attacked by one. The biologist was inside a wreck also and the eel grabbed his hand and started dragging him further down into the ship. He grabbed the eel as hard as he could and it finally let go. He said the eel may have been aggressive secondary to protecting its young. I don't know what time of the season Conger eels have their young...or hatch? I was wondering if anyone has had any encounters with Conger eels and whether or not I may have been in danger. I know it's hard to say but I just felt nervous enough when I was hovering above it to slowly exit the wreck...Any comments would be appreciated....

 

[scubanimal]

My experience is that generally eels are territorial, and I have heard second hand stories of people getting followed and bitten, but its usually viper eels. I've had a few conger eel encounters and did have one come out and try to nibble on my fins. I don't think it was attacking for two reasons, one it waited until I pulled away from its lair, and was slowly ascending about 8-10 feet from its hole. Second I had several animals (including a whale shark) come nibble on my fins that trip. I spend a significant amount of time over the course of my vacation that year with conger eels and did not see any cause to be concerned more than normal around eels. I take a lot of eel pictures and frequently have them touching the camera especially the dome port.

My understanding is the Conger eels are a very old species (relatively) and less adapted to the ocean (note their small pectoral like fins), so like any other of the predator type animals, I just try not to appear to be food or too aggressive.

 

[rawls]

Thanks scubanimal....I was none too agressive nor try to be food