TRR photo by Sandy Long An American eel crosses the wooden slats of the trap. Eels look like snakes, but are actually fish with mucous-producing skin that does not possess scales. Mature eels average four feet in length for females and two feet for males. They feed on fish, crustaceans, worms, insects and mollusks and tear food they can’t swallow whole into pieces by grasping the flesh and spinning as fast as 14 rotations per second. Eels are not harmful and don’t sting, but if provoked, may bite in self-defense.

Eeling on the Delaware

It’s a wild gamble shadowed by serious risk, uncertain harvests and incredible physical demands, but Jim Fredericks wouldn’t have it any other way. Fredericks and his brother John operate an eel weir near Pond Eddy in the Upper Delaware River, and although he’s been trapped on the weir by rising water and suffered other harms, Jim hopes to harvest eels as long as he is able.

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Edward Van Put named ‘History Preserver’

ROSCOE, NY—This year, the Sullivan County Historical Society will present its “History Preserver “ Award to Edward Van Put at a dinner scheduled for Sunday, October 11 at The Rockland House. A social hour will start at 5:00 p.m. and dinner at 6:00 p.m.

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Children’s book teaches respect for the environment

NEWFOUNDLAND, PA—“Let Me Tell You All About,” an illustrated children’s book by local author Sigrid Klauck Wilshinsky, introduces children to a fantasy forest and the animals that inhabit it.

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Also in this issue:

• Coldwater conservation grants available
• Game commission posts field forecasts