Halley's Comet EEL

[Ardy]

The last time Halley's comet passed over in 1985/6 there was much talk about Halley's eel that was shown on the bayeux tapestry in 1066. I read an article in Scuba Diver magazine about a diver in New Zealand who photographed the eel, the first photo of one in the ocean. They have been taken by trawlers and displayed.
The question is what is the name of the eel and has anyone got a copy of the photo from the 80's? I have just done several searches on Google and can find no mention of it.

 

[Hoyden]

The last time Halley's comet passed over in 1985/6 there was much talk about Halley's eel that was shown on the bayeux tapestry in 1066. I read an article in Scuba Diver magazine about a diver in New Zealand who photographed the eel, the first photo of one in the ocean. They have been taken by trawlers and displayed.
The question is what is the name of the eel and has anyone got a copy of the photo from the 80's? I have just done several searches on Google and can find no mention of it.

The eels on the Bayeux Tapestry are depicted below a scene of Harald Godwinson pulling two men out of quicksand. There are 6 eels chased by a man reaching for one of the eels' tail. I do not recall the SD article, but the eels depicted are likely silver eels (Anguilla anguilla) or conger eels (Conger conger) as those are the two species that are found in the area.

 

[Ardy]

Hoyden, from my memory of this event the eels only come to the shallow waters when Halley's comet comes over so they are a very large eel from great depths and that is why the photo of one was significant.

 

[Hoyden]

Hoyden, from my memory of this event the eels only come to the shallow waters when Halley's comet comes over so they are a very large eel from great depths and that is why the photo of one was significant.

I also can't find anything about this, but I can find pictures of the section of the Bayeux Tapestry that has the eels on it and there is no reason to think that they are some extra large eel from the depths that only appears every 80 years. They are shown with a man swimming behind them so you get size perspective. Eels are commonly eaten in England and this depiction seems in line with what the locals would have been seeing and eating.

I would be super interested if you do find anything about it. It would be a great story.

 

[dlofting]

The eels on the Bayeux Tapestry are depicted below a scene of Harald Godwinson pulling two men out of quicksand. There are 6 eels chased by a man reaching for one of the eels' tail. I do not recall the SD article, but the eels depicted are likely silver eels (Anguilla anguilla) or conger eels (Conger conger) as those are the two species that are found in the area.

I think this is probably correct. The eels depicted on the tapestry most likely represent something else, perhaps a moral story. In that case they would be whatever eels the artist(s) were most familiar with. Additionally Harald is on the bank of a river so the eels are or should be a freshwater species.

 

[Ardy]

I also can't find anything about this, but I can find pictures of the section of the Bayeux Tapestry that has the eels on it and there is no reason to think that they are some extra large eel from the depths that only appears every 80 years. They are shown with a man swimming behind them so you get size perspective. Eels are commonly eaten in England and this depiction seems in line with what the locals would have been seeing and eating.

I would be super interested if you do find anything about it. It would be a great story.

I can't believe there is nothing on this it was such a big story at the time. I stupidly threw out my collection of Scuba Diver mags only 3 years ago. Maybe we have to wait till 2062 to have a re-run of this story. It is starting to make me think it was a hoax but there were lot's about it at the time but it was nearly 40 years ago.

 

[tursiops]

@Ardy, can you confirm that you think the story(s) you read were in Scuba Diver Magazine, the one published in the UK? There are several dive magazines with similar names. Also, I can find no evidence that that magazine was being published back in 1986. Were there name changes?

I'm relatively adept at searching -- not just with Google -- and am having no luck finding any mention from 1986-1988 of an eel associated with Halley's Comet. Eels in the Bayeux tapestry, of course, but Hoyden et al are on top of that.

 

[Ardy]

@Ardy, can you confirm that you think the story(s) you read were in Scuba Diver Magazine, the one published in the UK? There are several dive magazines with similar names. Also, I can find no evidence that that magazine was being published back in 1986. Were there name changes?

I'm relatively adept at searching -- not just with Google -- and am having no luck finding any mention from 1986-1988 of an eel associated with Halley's Comet. Eels in the Bayeux tapestry, of course, but Hoyden et al are on top of that.

I am sure it was scuba diver Australia. I can't be absolutely sure as there were a couple of them at that time.
I have written to them as they are still around. I kept copies of the mag from around 1979.

 

[WeRtheOcean]

I doubt that Halley's, of all comets, would exert enough gravitational pull for oceanic animals to notice. The 1985-6 appearance was disappointing -- I know this because I was a kid eager to see it.