[Illustration: SEA EEL.]
The Sea Eels are slender, serpent-like Fishes, that are very strong and
active, and they swim with the same waving movements in the water, as
the serpents use in creeping on dry land. These Eels feed on small
Fishes, Crabs, etc., and are such hungry fellows that when other food
fails they begin to nibble at each other’s tails.
It is difficult to catch a Sea Eel; they are usually caught with rod and
line, or with line and ground bait, but they are quick in making their
escape. When they have swallowed a hook they will often cut the line
with their teeth, or they turn upon it, and try, by winding it round
some object, to strain or break it. When caught in a net they quickly
choose some mesh through which their body can glide.
Like the Lampreys, these Sea Eels make excellent food, and are often
raised in ponds and carefully fed to give their flesh a delicate flavor.