Mysterious lives of conger eels

THE other day I got a chance to talk to a marine biologist who’s an expert on conger eels.

They’re a very interesting fish so I was keen to learn more about them. I was particularly interested because last July a diver swimming 25 metres below the surface of Killary Harbour was subjected to what appears to have been an unprovoked attack from a large conger which severely damaged his face and came close to costing him his life.

All large congers around the Irish coast are females and they are the largest eels in the world, capable of growing to at least 2.2 metres in length and 60kg in weight. Males never exceed more than a couple of kilos. The Killary attack, which received some lurid publicity in the media and on the internet was, according to the expert I spoke to, completely out of character.