life cycle
European eels hatch in the Atlantic Ocean, in the Sargasso Sea.
Due to their shape, the eel larvae are also known as willow leaf larvae. It takes them a few years to reach the European coasts.
When approaching, the metamorphosis of the larvae into small transparent glass eels begins. In spring, they migrate in large shoals from the coasts upstream into the inland waters.
During this stage, they are called elvers, also referred to as yellow eels due to the changing yellowish colour of their belly. In their continental habitat, they grow to full size over the next few years and become sexually mature.
Now they enter the final stage of their life cycle. In autumn, the eels return from the inland waters via rivers to spawn where they hatched: in the Sargasso Sea.
During this several year lasting migration, their physical characteristics undergo changes. They accumulate fat reserves, their digestive system recedes and they stop eating. Instead, the sexual organs develop, which gradually occupy their entire body. The eyes of the now named blank or silver eels enlarge and turn a silvery grey colour.
Upon arrival in the Sargasso Sea, the mature eels spawn and finally die. Eels can reach an age of 20 to 50 years, in rare cases even well over 100 years.