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Right now the Eel's journey is getting underway, but its migration remains an enigma to us. We know where it starts and where it ends, but that’s about it. Our reporter, Mike Dilger, met up with a man who's trying to shed light on this mysterious journey: Dave Righton of CEFAS (The Centre for Environment, Fishery and Aquaculture Science).
So, why tag an Eel? These animals have declined by over 90% over the last 10 years. If we know where they go, this information may help us conserve the remaining population.
On the River Corrib in Galway, Dave and his team are catching and tagging enormous Eels. They need to catch 50 to 60 of the largest Eels they can get. These individuals are around a metre long and as thick as a man's wrist. They're at a stage in their life cycle where they're known as "silver eels". After catching them, the scientists then anaethetise the Eels and attach a cutting edge satellite tracking device that looks like a fancy pair of earrings.
From the moment they leave our coast, very little is known about their journey: the routes they take, how deep they swim, how fast they travel or even how long it takes them to get there. In this day and age, it seems strange that we do know so little, but it's thought the adults swim very deep and, together with their superb camouflage, this may be why no adult Eels have yet been found en route between the UK and the Sargasso sea.