6-1-11: Stream of Troubles for a Backwards Fish

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110601EIF.mp3

American eel. Photo credit: NOAA.

The American eel, or Anguilla rostrada, is one of the strangest and most contrarian fishes in the world, with a migration pattern opposite that of most species.  But its populations are declining, in part because of overfishing for seafood markets in Europe and Asia, and because a growing number of their streams are blocked by dams and development.