Life in the big blue box: studying the marine life of European eels

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The European eel (Anguilla Anguilla) is commercially and ecologically important. It has a remarkable catadromous lifecycle: mature adult eels spawn in the sea from which the resulting larvae migrate to the rivers of Europe, grow to partial maturity in freshwater for a period of 5 to 15 years (although sometimes much longer), then return once again to the marine environment to make their second longdistance migration to spawning grounds, where they die after reproduction. So, whilst most of the eel population's growth and production occurs in freshwater, the key life history events of reproduction and recruitment take place in the marine environment. However, despite more than a century of research, much of the ecology, life history and biology of European eels remains a mystery because traditional methods of research have not proved reliable or cost-effective. To solve some of this mystery, the EU has co-funded a large project called that brings together several cutting-edge technologies and research laboratories across Europe.