For More Information on American
eels:
Nebraska
Game and Parks Fish Identification Guide
Chesapeake
Bay Program |
Distribution:
Marine, estuarine, and fresh water. Spawns in the Atlantic Ocean in the
Sargasso Sea and ascends streams in North and South America. Atlantic,
Great Lakes, Mississippi, and Gulf basins from Newfoundland to South Dakota
and south to South America
In Nebraska: Missouri River and lower portion of the Platte
River
Origin:
North America
Characteristics:
Snake-like body with continuous dorsal, anal, and tail fins
May migrate from ocean
Only females migrate this far
Impacts:
Not much of a problem in Nebraska
Management:
None in Nebraksa
The species was accidentally introduced into the Elkhorn River near
Omaha, Nebraska in 1873, when a railroad car transporting East Coast fish
to the West Coast lost its cargo to the river after a railroad bridge collapsed.
All told, an estimated fifteen hundred eels from Martha's Vineyard and
40,000 from the Hudson River were released in the Elkhorn.
|