trouble with eels

[scubalego]

Back in 1992 I was diving in hawaii (K-Bay) and, stuck my hand in a hole for a big bug and almost came out with an eel attached to my arm! I recommend you look first and then grab. If you only see one or none of the lobsters feelers there is a good chance he is sharing a hole with an eel. Any way, I won a free boat dive for catching the big bug of the month.

 

[BrianM]

I was diving in Mexico last year and we decided to look for a few bugs for dinner on a night dive. My buddy (who owns the local dive shop) saw a bug go under a ledge so he stuck his arm in as far as he could. I figured I would go around to the side and see if I could flush the bug out from the other direction... so I shine my light under the ledge and I see the biggest green Moray I have ever seen and my buddies fingers are tickling his cheek!!! It's times like that when I wish I was a photographer!!

 

[Puffer Fish]

Earl E. _ first off, I gotta tell you that your moniker just put me into thinking "Wile E. Coyote" - like you're giving up hunting roadrunners for lobsters now.
Eels don't bite all that hard, but their teeth point inwards. They chomp and then can start twisting themselves. They can leave a real jagged tear in your skin that is alsmost guaranteed to become infected. My wife has a friend who had her fingertip bit off by an eel on her very first dive and her ex lost part of a finger to another eel. So I'm real careful around her.
Eels pretty much leave you alone unless you go riling them up. Except for those nasty green ones, they're all pretty shy and retiring. And if you see one, maybe you don't need to go pointing at it too closely.
If you do managed to get chomped though, make sure you have an Acme Eel Remover though.

I'm always amazed the different points of view people have, depending on where they dive and the "attitude" of the life in that area.

I've been bitten and I have been with people who have been more than just lightly.

In the pacific off Panama, diving for Lobsters is best done with two people, one to get the Lobsters and one to fend off the giant green morays (close to shore, bad vis, lots of bugs). They are large (up to 10 ft), aggressive and free swimming - they come to you. Get bit by one and you do not have to worry about your fingers - worry about living.

Go out in the pacific to clear water and they are not to be messed with, but they will normally leave you alone.

From Panama north to Mexico, in the Atlantic, they tend to be shy, and much smaller. You tend to get a quick nip (ugly results, as Tom has pointed out) if they do bite, but some are almost friendly.

I would guess it is area/animal specific. So caution would seem to be the best approach.

 

[diverjed]

I saw a giant eel (10-15ft in length) chew a man's head off once.......so they are a force to be reckoned with. We were inside a wreck clashing with these enemy pirates attempting to muscle in our loot, and the ringleader stuck his head inside an entranceway where the creature had made its home and..............

Blood, brain tissue, everywhere. Gruesome!

 

[DiveGolfSki]

I saw a giant eel (10-15ft in length) chew a man's head off once.......so they are a force to be reckoned with. We were inside a wreck clashing with these enemy pirates attempting to muscle in our loot, and the ringleader stuck his head inside an entranceway where the creature had made its home and..............

Blood, brain tissue, everywhere. Gruesome!

Was that the time you were diving with Jackie Bisset and Nick Nolte (The "Deep", 1978ish)?

 

[diverjed]

Was that the time you were diving with Jackie Bisset and Nick Nolte (The "Deep", 1978ish)?

Well, if that were the names of the young good-looking couple that were on my team, then maybe so.

And yeah, it was about, 1978ish, late seventies sometime. How'd you know?

 

[mntdiver]

Interesting thread, though a little old. It seems that all eels are grouped as the same. This is not as I've noticed. Greens are docile eels, but, I wouldn't put too much trust in spotted eels. I've never been bit, but saw it when I worked in the Keys. It's always a good idea not to surprise anything in a hole, anything with teeth anyway (bugs not included).

This one is from Belize last year.

 

[Cacia]

What do you think the deal is with this guys teeth? They look broken...or missing. (loved the last photo!)

 

[Zoomer]

What do you think the deal is with this guys teeth? They look broken...or missing. (loved the last photo!)

He just got done chewing the finger off the last diver that took his picture... they really don't like that much...

 

[Diver Dennis]

Interesting thread, though a little old. It seems that all eels are grouped as the same. This is not as I've noticed. Greens are docile eels, but, I wouldn't put too much trust in spotted eels. I've never been bit, but saw it when I worked in the Keys. It's always a good idea not to surprise anything in a hole, anything with teeth anyway (bugs not included).

This one is from Belize last year.

The only time I've been bitten was by a small spotted Eel. Where I live they will actually start to rub their head and body on your hand, just like a cat. But this little guy just nipped me. Must have been having a bad day...