Probably the best eel theory in the world

A FEW weeks ago a reader emailed me with a query about the life-cycle of eels.

The specific question was: “Is it true that all eels are spawned in the Sargasso Sea?” The long answer to the question involves Aristotle, Freud and Carlsberg beer. The short answer is that all European freshwater eels (Anguilla anguilla) are spawned in the Sargasso Sea — an area of the Caribbean — as are all North American freshwater eels (Anguilla rostrata). But there are many other eel species in the world, some living in freshwater, some in the sea and some spending part of their lives in each, that do not spawn in the Sargasso.

So it’s not true that all eels in the world originate there but all freshwater eels in Ireland do. The same species is found all over Europe, in the near East and parts of Africa.