Eels are very unique animals and not much was known about eels until recent years. What makes the eel so different is that it is catadromous, meaning they spend most of their life in freshwater, but must travel into salt water to spawn. The American Eel starts its life as eggs in the Sargasso Sea, located just beyond the Gulf Stream in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. As the eels hatch into tiny larvae called "glass eels", they drift towards the Eastern Coast in ocean currents. This process may take years to complete! Eels will then mature and grow once they have reached the coast. Most eels will swim upstream into freshwater rivers and streams while some will stay in brackish bays. These eels will have to make this journey again and return to their birth waters in the Sargasso Sea to spawn and die. Some eels live for 20 years in freshwater before they return to the Sargasso Sea.
So the next question is, how did this eel get into Kiawah's ponds? All the ponds are managed by the Lakes Department through the Kiawah Island Community Association. Most of these ponds are man-made and have drainage structures that allow inflow from the marsh, promoting water exchange. Eel larvae may have drifted in with the tides and survived in the ponds. They can navigate through many obstacles and can even climb over rocks. Eels also have they ablity to absorb oxygen through their skin, allowing them to survive out of the water for several hours. So don't be surprised to catch an eel the next time you go fishing in one of Kiawah's ponds.
Naturalist, Kristen Lococo