A Mixed Bag: Eels, Garfish and the Like, Silversides, the John Dory, the Red ‘Bream’ and the Opah

Appears in

Published 1980

About

The Order Anguilliformes is the order of eels. The three most important are the common eel, the moray eel and the conger. The first of these can be counted as a marine fish, since the sea is where it begins and ends its life, although most of its years are spent in fresh water. The other two are purely marine; but the moray eel belongs to warmer waters than those of the North Atlantic and is not catalogued here.

Eels possess great tenacity of life. This applies especially to the common eel. It will remain alive out of water for a surprisingly long time. The conger also exhibits considerable staying power, and keeps very well after death. ‘Yes, it’s very rare that we condemn a box of conger,’ said an inspector at Billingsgate to me once.