Overview
- The American eel catch, which happened Monday, May 4, was photographed along the Chicago Riverwalk near Grand Avenue and then released by angler Ben Gorashchenko.
- Researchers say this is only the second documented eel in the Chicago River in recent years, following a 2017 report.
- Scientists cannot confirm the eel’s origin, citing possible routes past fish barriers from the Mississippi system, a long trek via the St. Lawrence and Great Lakes, or a human release.
- American eels hatch in the Sargasso Sea and spend most of their lives in rivers and estuaries before returning to the ocean to spawn.
- Biologists note that eels hide in bottom sediments and move at night, so daytime fish surveys often miss them and more may be present than records show.