Depending on its size, the eel is called: glass eel (6-7 cm); black eel (20-25 cm); capitone eel (over 1 kg in weight).
It has a snake-like body, with very small scales embedded in the integument and covered in mucus. The dorsal and anal fins merge with the caudal fin; the ventral fins are absent. It can reach 1.5 meters in length and weigh 6-7 kg.
It is present in most of the province's waters below 1,000 meters above sea level. During the day, it remains hidden. It feeds at night, hunting aquatic invertebrates and small fish.
It reproduces in the sea and grows in freshwater. The marine larvae (called leptocephali), 7–8 cm long and shaped like transparent willow leaves, are passively transported by currents for 3–4 years from the Atlantic spawning area to the European coasts. The next stage, called the glass eel, begins migrating into inland waters, pigmenting and acquiring the characteristics of the young eel: a greenish-brown back, small eyes, and a yellow belly (yellow eels). After 8–15 years, the eels enter the reproductive phase: their backs become black, their bellies silvery, and their eyes large (Argentine eels); males (40–45 cm long) are significantly smaller than females. They begin their return to the sea toward their spawning grounds, the best-known of which is the Sargasso Sea. To overcome obstacles along the way, the eel can emerge from the water, moving like a snake.
Eel meat is highly prized. In addition to fishing, eel farming is also practiced (not in Trentino): since artificial reproduction is impossible, farming is based on glass eels, harvested en masse at river mouths. There is a high demand for these eels, but their numbers have declined significantly in recent years.
Dialect: anguìla, bisat.
G. TOMASI, 2004 - The Three Hundred Lakes of Trentino. Ed. Artimedia – Temi, Trento, 535 pp.
