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As the 9:00 a.m. bell rings at Mountain View School, a group of fifth graders shuffle into the classroom and make a beeline to the corner with the 55-gallon aquatic tank. Huddled around the glass, the wide-eyed students have much to say as they observe the young, ribbon-like creatures dancing in the water: American eels.
“Can they shock you?”
“What do they eat?”
“Are there such things as zombie eels?”
By spring, the students will know the answers to these questions and more.
This tank of 20 American eels will reside at Mountain View through the end of the school year as part of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s “American eels in the classroom” program, which will use the species as a focal point to educate and connect kids to their local Connecticut River watershed. Students will learn about key conservation topics like watershed ecology, migratory fish life cycles and fish passage fish passage
Fish passage is the ability of fish or other aquatic species to move freely throughout their life to find food, reproduce, and complete their natural migration cycles. Millions of barriers to fish passage across the country are fragmenting habitat and leading to species declines. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's National Fish Passage Program is working to reconnect watersheds to benefit both wildlife and people.
Learn more about fish passage — all through the lens of one of the most mysterious animals in the river.
An unb-eel-ievable journey
“American eels are special to us, because some of them spend part of their lives in the Connecticut River, right here in our backyard,” said Cathy Bozek, National Fish Passage Program Northeast coordinator with the Service, during a kickoff presentation to students.
But American eels get their start in a faraway place: the Sargasso Sea, a vast, nutrient-rich expanse way out in the North Atlantic Ocean. Once born, they migrate hundreds and even thousands of miles to freshwater rivers and streams along the Atlantic coast, where they live from anywhere between 10 and 30, even 40 years. Then, when the time comes, the fully matured eels begin their long and arduous journey back to the sea to reproduce and live out their final days.
It’s a deeply fascinating story of travel and physical transformation — and hopefully one that will inspire the students with curiosity and wonder.
“Our ultimate goal is to connect kids with nature and inspire future stewards who will grow up caring about species like the American eel,” said Bryan Sojkowski, fish passage engineer with the Service.
Hurdles to habitat
Raising awareness about issues the American eel faces is also important. American eels play a critical role in the balance of our ecosystems, but populations have suffered dramatic declines. The high incidence of dams and hydroelectric facilities throughout the country has severely impacted their ability to access habitat and significantly increased their likelihood of being injured and/or killed when attempting to return to the ocean. While the American eel isn’t listed under the Endangered Species Act in the U.S., its close cousin, the European eel, has been listed as critically endangered worldwide since 2013. Without help, the American eel faces a similar fate.
Through the program, students will become familiar with the Service’s efforts to mitigate these threats by providing clean and healthy habitat for wildlife, restoring habitat and working with partners to improve fish passage so migratory fish can move freely.
At the same time, they’ll learn about their own responsibilities as stewards of their local watershed and the wildlife that live there.
“The earlier we can get this conversation started with the public, the better chance these species will have into the future,” said Sojkowski.
This first-year pilot effort is led by staff from the Fish and Aquatic Conservation program in the Service’s Northeast Region and the Silvio O. Conte National Fish and Wildlife Refuge. The eels were collected by Service staff just a few miles downstream from the school at the Robert E. Barrett Fishway in Holyoke, Massachusetts, in partnership with Holyoke Gas & Electric.
Supplies to maintain the eels are funded through the Service’s Fish Funds program, and staff are currently working with the school to develop curriculum, presentations and other educational resources and activities — all at no cost to the school.
“If all goes well, we hope to expand this program to other communities along the Connecticut River corridor,” said Sojkowski.
Finally, in May, as students anticipate the joys of summer break, the fishes-in-residence will be released back into the Connecticut River, free to continue living out their mysterious ways — until the sea calls them home once more.
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