The Traditional Fisherman's Forum

Today's Sunday Telegraph (what an odd title for a paper with so many supplements) tells me on page 25 that a 150 year old Swedish freshwater eel has finally expired. It was named Ale (Swedish remember not an anglo saxon pint) presumably slipped back from the Saragosso sea in 1859 when Napolean III ruled France and the suez canal was being built. Abigail Fielding-Smith explains that much of Sweden is in mourning for this celebrity that lived at the bottom of a well. She explains that it was common for cottagers to place eels in their wells to gobble up the bugs that could otherwise spoil the water. The cottage owner Mr Kjellman explains that eels normally only live 7 years (?!) but this one just 'lived and lived'. Ale has featured in Swedish books and TV programmes and Swedes are tweeting their loss at her passing. Ale's body is now being frozen and will be studied to understand her longevity. This now just leaves the 110 year old other eel well resident to carry on the tradition!

So what do you reckon, can an eel live 150 years? Certainly being trapped inside a well has precluded the urge to travel back to sea. We don't know from the article what Ale weighed or how long she was? What do you think?

The trouble with claims of great age in animals and humans is that they can be hard to prove. 150 years for an eel stuck in a well with just noxious bugs for food? Maybe they have found the elixir for longevity and their well water will be worth millions... or maybe that's what they want us to think. But I always was an old cynic.

Like most of what's written in the newspapers, I shall treat this with all due suspicion.

Reminds me of the story of the Lambton Worm. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lambton_Worm

Wal.

Yes I'm cautious Dave. The article doesn't say that the age of this eel was verified scientifically. There have to be a few sculpins as well as the worms that dropped in methinks! I also rather wonder if she was occasionally wound up in a bucket? If she didn't slither over the side then you might think they would cook a nutritious eel?! I know eels can live a good long while, 20+ years in some still waters, but 150 years seems incredible!

The European eel, all my reference books put the maximum age at around 85-88 years, so for a captive, who knows....

Well we know for certainty that king carp in the wild can live at least 70 years, and probably much more.
Also koi carp in Japan have lived for well over 100 years, probably 150 years.
So why not a 150 year old eel, and maybe a lot longer, although i would find highly unlikely that it would live anywhere near that long at the bottom of a well.

Wallys-Cast wrote:Reminds me of the story of the Lambton Worm. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lambton_Worm

Wal.

Didn't they do a feature on that on Screeming Reels?

True or not it is good PR for these wonderful and fascinating creatures. I do a few overnighters every year angling for the fish eating broad heads where I know they exist. By using a long shank hook and vigilance I avoid deep hooking them though sadly so many are caught inadvertently very often deep hooked. A bit like Pike they are vulnerable to poor handling once caught.

Aquaerial wrote:True or not it is good PR for these wonderful and fascinating creatures. I do a few overnighters every year angling for the fish eating broad heads where I know they exist. By using a long shank hook and vigilance I avoid deep hooking them though sadly so many are caught inadvertently very often deep hooked. A bit like Pike they are vulnerable to poor handling once caught.

The sad thing is Aquaerial, a lot of folk still await the second run, which causes problems and there are rigs that prevent such happening, my late Father used such and demonstrated its use to me, long before it became common practice amongst those in the know ....

All's well that ends well I guess.