MorphologyThe body is long and cylindrical with a laterally compressed tail. The tail is longer than the sum of the head and trunk length. The head is long and pointed. The eyes are oval. Mouth large, tongue attached to the floor of the mouth. Maxillary teeth strong and sharp, in 3 rows; middle of plastron with 10-15 large laterally compressed teeth. Body not scaly, with 140 to 153 lateral line pores. The dorsal and anal fins are attached to the caudal fin. Body yellowish brown, large individuals with 1 dark brown stripe along each side of dorsal fin base. Vertebrae 142～154.
BiologyFierce carnivorous fish. Swims rapidly. Inhabits the sea area with mud or sandy bottom at a depth of 50～80 meters. Dwelling in the mud holes, in the wave when the water is turbid often out to feed, evening and early morning more active. It likes to feed on shrimp, crab, fish and squid. The feeding intensity is higher from July to September. Reproductive period is from April to July. The amount of eggs is 18 to 1.2 million. Eggs are spherical, with a diameter of 1.64 to 1.67 millimeters. There is a significant metamorphosis in the development of fawns and juveniles, and the change from lobe to juvenile eel is completed in about 15 days at a water temperature of 20℃, at which time the body length is about 70 millimeters. Adults are generally about 600 millimeters in length and weigh 1 to 1.5 kilograms.
There are obvious migratory phenomena, in the East China Sea and the Yellow Sea offshore China, can be divided into three groups. The first group is the Yellow Sea and Bohai Sea group, migrating between the wintering grounds southwest of Jeju Island and Haeju Bay and the Bohai Sea, entering Haeju Bay to the north in May-June, and migrating to the southeast after October. The second group is the school that migrates between the mouth of the Yangtze River and the wintering grounds in the southwest of Jeju Island. The third group is a larger group of fish migrating north-south along the coast of Zhejiang. There is a complex seasonal overlap between these three groups. Fish distributed in the South China Sea only make short-distance seasonal migrations.
The main fishing gear used for production and utilization is longline, followed by bottom trawl and set net.
Sea eel meat is thick, fine, tasty and high in fat, and can be eaten fresh, salted and dried or canned. Eel meat is mixed with other fish to make fish balls and fish sausage, more flavorful and flexible. Dried eel replica watches and dried swim bladder are good for food.
The eel looks like a snake for a reason. It is a long tubular body, mostly without scales and ventral fins, stretching a bare, greasy body in the sea twisting forward, how like a snake ah! Inexperienced people who catch an eel are too scared to move it, thinking it is a sea snake. That's right! There are many fish in the sea such as sea dragons, seahorses, rays and so on, and the sea eel, are not like ordinary fish, but they have gills, unlike sea snakes, must swim out of the water from time to time to breathe.
Sea eels grow into a snake-like shape to better navigate through reef crevices and coral thickets, making it easier for them to hide and hunt for food, which is to their own advantage.
Most eels live in reef crevices or coral thickets, where they don't dare to come out during the day, but only go out at night to look for food. When in danger, they will escape to the surface, swimming while the head and the front half of the body out of the water, so that often scare people enough to think that they have encountered a water monster.
The horror stories about the moray eel spread like this, some people say that the moray eel is poisonous, eaten will be numb limbs, the whole body convulsions; some people say that the moray eel is a ferocious man-eating demon, they often attack divers, if it bites an arm or a leg, it will drag you to the sea and drown; coupled with its frighteningly large mouth and snake-like body, so that people can not help but believe.
In fact, the moray eel is a very nutritious food, as early as in the era of the Roman Empire, only the rich can afford to eat; and, the moray eel is a kind of very shy fish, as long as you do not infringe on it, it will not take the initiative to attack you.
There were two scientists who made friends with a moray eel during their research, and every time they went to the sea, they forgot to bring some of the eel's favorite food. The moray eel would coyly swim out of its hole and eat it from the tip of a harpoon. Of course, you can't get too close to it. If you let it misunderstand that you are going to hurt it, you will be in trouble, and it will swoop down and bite without letting go. Although moray eel teeth are not poisonous, the wounds can be dangerous if they become infected. So most divers are careful and try not to mess with it.
For centuries, the eel has attracted so much attention, not only because it's ferocious, but also because of its mysterious reproductive habits. Take the European eel for example, every year, a large number of young eels from the ocean into the rivers and lakes of the European continent; to the fall, and a large number of adult eels swim back to the sea, once in the sea, disappeared without a trace.
Late September to mid-October, inshore shallow mudflat surface water temperature of about 20 degrees Celsius is the most suitable for fishing sea eel. The sea eel likes to travel at night, the night before sunset after dark, the next morning after dawn two hours of active hunting. The wind and waves in the fishing area and the turbidity in the water caused by the strong currents can also make the moray eel in an active state of baiting.
Generally, the timing of casting should be considered between the rising tide and the slightly receding tide, this section of the tide moving water movement, water movement fish movement, coupled with the rising tide, the fish by the offshore deep migrate to the near-shore intertidal zone, more conducive to the angler on the shore of the close proximity of the circle with it. Fishing area selection requirements harsh than other species of fish, water quality must be non-polluting to do, there is also a point to note, the sea eel on the hiding place of the water depth requirements have to pay attention to the depth of water in a few tens of meters deep before it is its favorite.
Of course, the climax of the water depth of 5 meters of their activities, but there is a little error can not be ignored, that is, the choice of the fishing spot where the water level can not be too big, at least to ensure that the tide is not dry beach, only this kind of seabed suitable for survival of the moray eel, or else when the "air force" quasi is you. The eel is a benthic fish, mostly inhabiting mud caves, mud and sand bottom fish, but the individual is small, mud and reef intersection area there is no lack of "big guy" hiding, the bottom of the terrain of the water like a finger in the eye, the fry and adult fish on the residence of the preferences of a clear understanding of the grasp of the success of this.
The moray eel is a carnivorous fish, which is different from other benthic omnivorous fish, and it is fond of live bodies and fresh bait with strong activity and poor self-defense ability. Night fishing sea eel bait preferred fresh six line fish skin meat. Fresh six lines of fish meat sliced, cut the length of 5 centimeters, one end of the width of 1.5 centimeters sharp triangle, repeated three times through the hook tip pushed in the hook bend can be. Fresh six lines of fish meat skin tough hook love, the darkness of the viscous slippery difficult to bait, can be salted with refined salt out of the water after the use of the operation of time-saving safety, fishing effect is also said to be past.
Put a kind of live sea crab caught under the slate in a plastic bucket, when used to pull off both chelae and side feet, remove the crab cover, from the side through the hook. The crab bait is full of body fluid, fresh and fishy, and has an irresistible temptation to the sea eel. In addition, conch meat, small sea hare, rock worm head and shrimp are all good bait for catching moray eels. No matter what kind of bait is used, to satisfy the appetite of moray eels is a prerequisite, the hook is resistant to benthic organisms nibbling is an effective guarantee, or else in the darkness of the frequent retrieval of the line to change the bait of the exhaustion of energy, delay, waste of bait is secondary, the bad thing is that it will be disturbed in the bait around the hook hovering around the school of fish.
Sea eel foraging for food, high vigilance, strike carefully, the lack of confidence in the attack and can not give up the "special bait" but also to test before swallowing. Trying to have the body to touch the bait and swallow the bait in the form of bait, resulting in the fish news is difficult to distinguish between true and false, the angler misjudgment, early or delayed brake hook time to delay the war, so that the original can be in the hands of the fish panic fled.
There is no doubt that it is very important to recognize the accuracy of the signal. The eel in the hook signal anomaly, the smaller the fish body pole tip shaking amplitude, the frequency of the bell signal urgent and loud. On the other hand, large adult fish over 1000 grams of old and cunning eat steadily, the rod tip will quietly bend down and slowly reset, it is best to raise the rod and stab the fish at the third ringing of the bell. If you don't feel comfortable or interested in tethering the bell, it is recommended that you tie a glow-in-the-dark stick to the tip of the rod as an eye-catching warning sign.
A few experienced sea fishing masters are bold and innovative, and do not care to let the auxiliary tools to take the lead, in the darkness of the night without the use of lighting tools, the trick to accurately determine whether the fish is hit is to settle in the mountains or the shadow of the building under the slopes, and to the high end of the rod angled peeping. A simple and convenient way to land a fish is to cut the fishing line and change the hook, which saves time and doesn't fish your hands. One thing to remind you, night fishing eel is not the only eel alone to enjoy the light, often there will be Sebastodes nigra to go to the appointment to prey on the bait hooks, bell signals rapid and powerful signal is different from the eel in the hooks, and occasionally there will be pulled over the weight of the rod situation occurs, hope that the anglers in the process of practicing careful screening. At the same time, be careful when removing the hook to prevent Sebastodes dorsal fin from hurting your hand. The most important thing is to be careful with the dorsal fins of Sebastodes, so as not to hurt your hand.