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The Eel’s Incredible Journey
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Read the following article and answer the questions.
The Eel’s Incredible Journey
An adult American eel
Have you ever seen a fish that looks like a snake? If so, you have probably
seen an eel. Unlike snakes, eels have fins and breathe with gills instead of lungs.
The Hudson River and other waters in New York are home to the American
eel, but it is not born here. Its birthplace is in the Sargasso Sea, part of the
Atlantic Ocean southeast of Bermuda. From the Sargasso Sea, ocean currents
carry baby eels to the coast of North America. This trip takes many months.
At first, baby eels look like bits of
clear tape a few inches long. As the
young fish leave the ocean currents and
swim towards the coast, their bodies become more like pieces of spaghetti.
However, they remain transparent and are called glass eels. Only the tiny black
beads of their eyes and their red gills are easily seen.
Some eels stay in salt water and live in
bays and marshes along the coast.
Others swim up rivers to live in
freshwater habitats. Soon after
arriving in these new habitats, green,
brown, or yellow colors begin to appear on
their bodies. At this point they are called
elvers.
Glass eels
