Eels, including the European eel (Anguilla anguilla), have a very wide distribution and are found in most freshwater systems throughout the Atlantic Ocean. However, their breeding grounds are in the Sargasso Sea, which is located in the western Atlantic Ocean, near the Azores. The adult eels travel thousands of kilometers from Europe and North America to reach this area to breed and lay their eggs. The larvae that hatch from the eggs drift with ocean currents back to the coasts, where they metamorphose into glass eels and enter freshwater systems. This migration and the life cycle of eels are still not well understood, and more research is needed to fully understand their biology and habitat requirements.
