NPR : The Strange Journey of the American Eel
More than 10,000 American eels swam up the “eel-evator” in Old Saybrook, Conn., in a 24-hour period that began with the May 25, 2007, dedication celebration of the new Fishing Brook (Ingham Hill) Fishway in Old Saybrook, Connecticut.
This number surpasses all other eel-passes in the state. At the celebration, DEP representative Tim Wildman enlisted the help of those in attendance to help count the day’s accumulated eels, which numbered over 10,000!
The Fishing Brook Fishway is the second fishway on the Oyster River watershed. A third fishway at Crystal Lake in the town park will complete the opening of the entire Fishing Brook watershed to migratory fish species, including alewives, blueback herring and sea-run brown trout – all important to the Long Island Sound ecosystem.
Of the seventy people who attended the evening get-together were Land Trust President Janice Holland, a number of trust board members, town Selectman Bill Peace, Conservation Commission chair Bob Fish, Tim Wildman from DEP Inland Fisheries, and Chris Cryder from Save the Sound. Also in attendance was Nate Jacobsen, from Jacobsen engineering in Chester, an early designer of the fishway, and Sue Hull, from Schumack Engineering, Clinton, representing the construction contractor.
The Fishing Brook fishway is located off Ingham Hill Road, south of route 95. It is on private property and therefore public access is restricted. Landowners Bob and Mary Otterson generously catered the celebration, which was held under a tent on the property.
The Fishway project was coordinated through the Old Saybrook Land Trust, with the assistance of Steve Gephard of the DEP Inland Fisheries Division. The project was made possible by the following funders: Connecticut Department Of Environmental Protection, Long Island Sound License Plate Program & Inland Fisheries Division; Fish America Foundation; NOAA Restoration Center; Restore America’s Estuaries; Save The Sound, A Program Of Connecticut Fund For The Environment, and USDA, Natural Resources Conservation Service.
National Public Radio's All Things Considered did a story on how the American eel makes an annual pilgrimage from freshwater rivers along the East Coast to the salty Sargasso Sea. Listen to how creatures that spend most of their lives in fresh water able to adapt to the ocean. Listen to the NPR story here.
The Hartford Courant also did a story on the eel-evator. Listen to that story and watch a video of the eel-evator in action here.
