Freshwater Eel

[mfalco]

I was in Hathaways pond yesterday and saw a very large eel.

Am I correct that Hathaways doesn't connect to the ocean at all? If so how did this eel get there? Leftover bait maybe?

 

[smellzlikefish]

Most freshwater eventually leads to the sea and in its description Hathaway's Pond is part of the Cape Cod watershed.

 

[porgyhunter]

I would catch American Eels..(like the large one you saw} in ponds in Northeastern Conn....Good 3 footers...That's a good 100miles from the ocean. They will really travel

 

[augk]

This is what you could find they most likely were put there.
http://www.mass.gov/dfwele/dfw/habitat/maps/ponds/pdf/dfwhath.pdf

 

[reefseal]

See them all the time.. Still give me creeps. What's water temp now in shallows and at depth?

 

[ktomlinson]

Eels are awesome and interesting creatures. They can swim straight down through sand and wiggle between rocks, I have heard they navigate with a really good sense of smell. They are the only catadromous fish in North America, which means that they are born in the ocean, live in fresh water and then go back to the ocean to spawn. So not only has that eel you saw made it to wherever it's at now from the ocean...it's planning on going back!

 

[augk]

Eels are awesome and interesting creatures. They can swim straight down through sand and wiggle between rocks, I have heard they navigate with a really good sense of smell. They are the only catadromous fish in North America, which means that they are born in the ocean, live in fresh water and then go back to the ocean to spawn. So not only has that eel you saw made it to wherever it's at now from the ocean...it's planning on going back!

I don't think there is much chance of that eel getting back to the ocean unless someone takes it there. The pond is a Kettle hole the only way water gets in that pond is from precipitation. There are no brooks or streams that connect to the ocean and there is no chance of any underground river or cave since the whole of the Cape is just one big topsoil covered sand bar.

 

[Mr.X]

I don't think there is much chance of that eel getting back to the ocean unless someone takes it there. The pond is a Kettle hole the only way water gets in that pond is from precipitation. There are no brooks or streams that connect to the ocean and there is no chance of any underground river or cave since the whole of the Cape is just one big topsoil covered sand bar.

I see a new documentary in the making " Freeing Mr. Eelie." You take a camera crew of British film makers out there, introduce them to Cape Cod, fried clams, eccentric lobstermen and eels. Work up a great story about why it's important to "save Eelie" from a anthropomorphic perspective and pitch it to Discovery, or Animal Planet. You return the friendly eel slowly back to nature while making sure to talk to Woods Hole folks about rehabilitation techniques. Scientific consultation alone, + Cape Cod eccentrics, Revolutionary (Redcoat) trivia and spooky diving in a kettle pond ensures a 6-12 part- 30 minute series. Heck, it would be better than seeing some of the "talent" crap that proliferates on TV these days.

X

 

[ktomlinson]

I don't think there is much chance of that eel getting back to the ocean unless someone takes it there. The pond is a Kettle hole the only way water gets in that pond is from precipitation. There are no brooks or streams that connect to the ocean and there is no chance of any underground river or cave since the whole of the Cape is just one big topsoil covered sand bar.

I mean it is possible that someone put it there, but I would think it more likely that it got there on its own. They can swim through groundwater and sand that you wouldn't be able to put your hand through..they can also travel over land if it's moist enough (they can absorb o2 through their skin). I don't think eel facts are common knowledge, it's not been that long since science even learned that they are migratory and reproduce down by Brazil.

http://www.fws.gov/northeast/newsroom/facts.html

 

[Mr.X]

I mean it is possible that someone put it there, but I would think it more likely that it got there on its own. They can swim through groundwater and sand that you wouldn't be able to put your hand through..they can also travel over land if it's moist enough (they can absorb o2 through their skin). I don't think eel facts are common knowledge, it's not been that long since science even learned that they are migratory and reproduce down by Brazil.

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service - Northeast Region Newsroom

I am going to imagine that this is not true! It would wreck the premise of the television series!