Eeling (sort of) for clean water

Friday I'm going over to the fish labs at Asaph on Route 6 to assist in a project partially funded by the Tiadaghton Audubon Society. It involves transplanting ells from down south into Pine Creek. The eels serve as hosts to the young of a p[articular mussel living in Pine Creek. That mussel's population is diminishing because the eels can't get upstream after they've been out in the Atlantic due to dam constructions barring their path. By physically transporting eels from below the dams to stretches of Pine Creek near known mussel beds, it's hoped that the mussel larvae will be able to 1) survive 2) hitch a ride to a new location where they can begin new mussel beds.

The reason for all this manipulation?

From the Tiadaghton Audubon Society web site:

Mussels (Elliptio complanata) are very effective, natural water filters, and one mussel can filter a gallon of water in an hour. Needless to say, the health of the ecosystem of an entire watershed could very well depend on a large and healthy population of these mussels. In our case, a clean Susquehanna watershed would lead to the proliferation of numerous macro invertebrates, which in turn would lead to an increase in the number of animals feeding off of this source of food, including native fish and various species of birds -- the Louisiana Waterthrush, for example.

Beside transporting eels from the fish labs to Pine Creek, the Tiadaghton Audubon Society has obtained a grant that will pay for tiny electronic devices that will be implanted in some of the eels to monitor their movements. Members of Tiadaghton Audubon Society will also man the sensors for some of the monitoring process.

Handling eels is not one of my favorite things. Slimy buggers, but if it improves the water quality of Pine Creek--an good trout water--then I say let me at 'em!