Jellied Eel (What species?)

[jeffries]

I was watching an episode of Gordon Ramsey's "The F Word" the other day and he did a piece on a traditional dish in Great Britian called Jellied Eels. I guess they use a local Eel and they serve it chopped up in this gelatonous goo. He is trying to bring the dish back because I guess it has fallen out of fashion in recent years. They featured a local fisherman that does the majority of collecting of this particular Eel to sell to the few places that still serve this dish.

The Eel comes from a channel that runs through England (maybe the English Channel? lol) and is a beautiful green color. So, my question is this...

Does anyone know what species this is? Are they kept by hobbyists at all? I am assuming they are a freshwater species, is that true?

 

[Umbra]

If it's a freshwater species, my guess would be Anguilla anguilla (European eel).

 

[jeffries]

If it's a freshwater species, my guess would be Anguilla anguilla (European eel).

Thanks for the information. I plugged this genus and species name into Google and it looks like you were right on the money! From the pictures that I saw, it looked exactly like what was on the tv show. They even mentioned the dish "jellied Eels" on the Wiki page for this species.

Unfortunately they are apparently critically endangered so I am guessing that almost no hobbyists keep them in captivity. I did read something interesting about them as well. Apparently they are saltwater dwellers in the early part of their life and they migrate to freshwater as they get older.

I think they are pretty good looking Eels, if I do say so myself.

 

[synodontisjack]

I catch alot of them when fishing, i was recently considering bringing one home and keeping it (which i may still do). I tend too catch alot in early autum anywhere from 2-5 per day trip fishing.

 

[jeffries]

I catch alot of them when fishing, i was recently considering bringing one home and keeping it (which i may still do). I tend too catch alot in early autum anywhere from 2-5 per day trip fishing.

Lucky!!

Me want!

I am partial to the color green so I think they are a very attractive species, especially when they have the yellow on their bellies as young adults. Catch one or two for me, please?

You don't have to have some sort of special permit to keep them do you? Any photos of any that you have caught recently?

 

[Umbra]

I keep Anguilla sp. eels, many of the eels in the genus look almost identical to the untrained eye... catch a few and don't let anyone know you have them, or simply advertise them as "Anguilla sp." if you see where I'm going with this...

 

[jeffries]

I keep Anguilla sp. eels, many of the eels in the genus look almost identical to the untrained eye... catch a few and don't let anyone know you have them, or simply advertise them as "Anguilla sp." if you see where I'm going with this...

I totally understand where you are going with this, but there is just one problem... I live in the U.S. so I really wouldn't be able to collect any. (lol)

Do you have any pics of the ones that you have?

 

[Umbra]

I'm actually in Canada (LOL) and there's debate that Anguilla anguilla and Anguilla rostrata (American eel) are the same species as they spawn in the sargasso sea, but they just migrate to different land masses. I just bought several 1.5-3' eels from my local chinatown market, threw em in my tank and now they're doing great, eating just about everything. I'll get some pics up when I'm home from school/work.

 

[jeffries]

I'm actually in Canada (LOL) and there's debate that Anguilla anguilla and Anguilla rostrata (American eel) are the same species as they spawn in the sargasso sea, but they just migrate to different land masses. I just bought several 1.5-3' eels from my local chinatown market, threw em in my tank and now they're doing great, eating just about everything. I'll get some pics up when I'm home from school/work.

Nice!

I want some! I wish I could find a place around here that has them. Hmmm... I wonder if they Chinatown in NY has them??

 

[Umbra]

Chinatown NY should definitely have them. Go to Maine or other coastal areas during striper season and you'll be able to find smaller (12-18") eels that are sold as bait.

Mine look like this: