What's In a Name?
American Eel: a snake-like fish found in North America

Anguilla (ann-gwill´-ah) means "eel" in Latin
rostrata (ross-trott´-tah) means "beaked" in Latin

To reach Minnesota, American eels have to swim all the way up the Mississippi River from the Gulf of Mexico or all the way through the St. Lawrence Seaway and Great Lakes to reach Lake Superior. Only the females make the long swim to Minnesota (see reproduction below). 

When not migrating, female American eels live in medium to large streams and lakes with muddy bottoms and quiet waters. They are most active at night. So, during the day they are found hiding in the mud or under objects such as rocks and logs at the bottom of the lake or river.

How Big Do They Get?
How Long Do They Live?
American eel females grow larger than the males. They commonly grow up to 90 cm (3 ft.) in length, but they have been recorded as big as 150 cm (5 ft) and 2.3-3.2 kg (5-7 lbs). The male eel generally reaches a length of no more than 50 cm (1.5 ft) and a weight of 1.4-1.8 kg (3-4 lbs). The Minnesota state record for this fish is a whopping 2.98 kg (6 lbs, 9 oz). Its was caught in the St. Croix River in Washington County. 

We do not know exactly how long American eels live, but females spend 10-20 years before they become mature and return to the oceans. They die after breeding once.

"Cool Fact": American eels may live longer than most Minnesota species. One American eel lived in captivity for 88 years. 

What Eats Them?
The young American eels (called elvers) have many natural predators, including predatory fish like walleye, and fish-eating birds like herons, cormorants and mergansers. There are also records of them being eaten by land animals, such as minks and otters. The adult eels fall prey to anglers in freshwater and to sharks and swordfish after they return to the ocean.

How Do They Reproduce?

Once the female eel has reached maturity (after 10-20 years in the freshwater streams and lakes), she starts back down the main river (Mississippi River or St. Lawrence Seaway) towards the ocean to spawn.  By the time she gets to the brackish (a little salty) water to meet up with the male eels, she has stored a lot of fat. The fat is high in oil and is used for the long journey ahead. 

Males and females may swim for 2 to 3 months until the reach the spawning area, which is in the Sargasso Sea. They arrive at the spawning area in the late winter or early spring when water temperatures there are about 22°-25° C. The breeding extends into the summer months, and the adult American eels then die after spawning. 

The female American eel may lay 10 to 20 million eggs during the spawning period. A newly hatched eel is a transparent, leaf-shaped larva called leptocephalus. These leptocephalus larvae drift in the ocean currents, which take them to the mouths of rivers off the coast of North America. 

As the larvae drift, they slowly get bigger, and after one year are about 60 to 65 mm. At this size, they are small and transparent and are called glass eels.   When they reach a coastal river, the males hang around in the estuaries, while the females swim far upriver. At this point they are about 65 to 90 mm long, have some coloring to them, and are called elvers.

"Cool Fact": The American eel is Minnesota's only Catadromous fish. It lives most of its life in freshwater and migrates to the ocean to spawn.

Conservation and Management
The American eel is not a popular food fish in Minnesota, but its close relative is in Europe. There are even festivals dedicated to eating eel prepared in many different ways. In the eastern U.S. the American eel is harvested commercially and has a modest following of devoted consumers. This species has no special concern status in Minnesota.