Come and learn about the amazing American Eel, that travels over 2,000 miles, all the way from the Sargasso Sea to Rockport’s Mill Pond.

Fish Biologist Eric Hutchins will present the life cycle and ecological role of American eels. He will also demonstrate how the Mill Pond Dam

elver trap operates, and you will have an opportunity to see baby eels up close.

NOAA’s National Marine Fisheries

Service leads an annual effort to monitor the migration of young American eels. These 3 to 4 inch eels arrive in the spring and head upstream, where they live from 10 – 30 years in the fresh water environment, growing upwards of 3 feet, before they head out to sea, back out to their ocean spawning grounds, and dying.

Eric Hutchins is a full-time fisheries restoration biologist with the NOAA Restoration

Center. He has spent over 25 years working to restore aquatic habitats that provide support for the vast marine fisheries in the Gulf of Maine region. His work has included dozens of dam removals, marsh restoration, fish ladders and local stewardship projects.