The Mystery of Eels

There are some things in nature we just don't understand, and this creature is one of them. Eels are coveted by the Japanese, sacred in New Zealand, and making people millionaires in Maine. But that's only part of the story. "The Mystery of Eels" premieres Wednesday, April 17 at 8/7c on PBS (check local listings).

Inspired by the Japanese art form Gyotaku, a type of Japanese fish printing popularized in the mid-1800s, artist and naturalist James Prosek created a series of pieces in the gyotaku style. But instead of using the traditional large-scaled carp to make his nature prints, Prosek decided to use a rather unusual fish as his creative tool, the eel.

The remarkable lifecycle of the eel, a catadromous fish found all over the globe, in fresh and salt water ecosystems alike. Eels begin life in the ocean before migrating in their larval stage to rivers and streams where they can spend decades before returning to the oceans to spawn. The Mystery of Eels premieres April 17 at 8/7c.

The Eel Project trains students and community members to monitor New York's wild eel populations. Volunteers record data on the eels before releasing them above nearby dams and other barriers. Chris Bowser, who heads the project, works for the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Estuary Program and Research Reserve, in partnership with Cornell's Water Resource Institute.