Eels have been a source of fascination to writer, artist and conservationist James Prosek since childhood. His introduction to the slimy, muscular fish occurred when fishing as a boy in the ponds and rivers of Connecticut. He would catch them by accident when fishing for something else. But when an old game warden explained that they were born thousands of miles away in the Sargasso Sea, somewhere in the Bermuda Triangle, Prosek became hooked and determined to learn as much he could about the mysterious creatures. Prosek’s journey takes him to Maine, where New England fishermen reap the benefits of a multibillion-dollar eel business; to Japan, where the fish are a staple of Japanese diet, with more than 130,000 tons of eel consumed each year; and to the Maori in New Zealand, where eels are revered, often depicted as mythical beings or guardians. Eels can be found all over the globe, in fresh and salt water ecosystems alike. But today, risk of over-fishing and the presence of dams and other obstacles that prevent eels from reaching their oceanic spawning grounds pose new threats to an animal that once roamed the planet alongside the dinosaurs.

Production Credits Print PRESENTED AND NARRATED BY

JAMES PROSEK PRODUCER

FRITZ MITCHELL WRITTEN BY

JAMES PROSEK DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY

PETER FRANCHELLA LINE PRODUCER

ALEXA CONWAY EDITOR

PAUL CARRUTHERS POST SUPERVISOR

STEVE MURPHY

JOHN F. SCHWALLY AUDIO

RYAN CARROLL

MATTHEW McLARTY ASSISTANT CAMERA

KATIE KEARNEY

CORY STAMBLER ADDITIONAL CAMERA

MURRAY MILNE

HEATHER PERRY MUSIC COMPOSED BY

DANNY BENSI

SAUNDER JURRIAANS COMPOSER ASSISTANT

CHASE DESO SOUND DESIGN

CARMEN BORGIA RE-RECORDING MIXER

MATT GUNDY SOUND EFFECTS EDITOR

ELI COHN ONLINE EDITOR

DAVID GAUFF COLORIST

GARY SCARPULLA SPECIAL THANKS

MIKE MILLER

JOE CASSONE

CHRIS BOWSER

STEVE GEPHARD

SALLY HAROLD

CRAIG PAULING

JACQUES BOUBEE

KUNIO KADOWAKI

BERYL WADE

BILL KERRISON

HAMPTON CAREY

DAVID SEIDLER

SCHWARTZ • WAJAHAT, NEW YORK Based on the Book

EELS: An Exploration, From New Zealand to the Sargasso, of the World’s Most Mysterious Fish

By James Prosek FOR NATURE SERIES EDITOR

JANET HESS SUPERVISING PRODUCER

JANICE YOUNG SENIOR PRODUCER

LAURA METZGER LYNCH ASSOCIATE PRODUCER

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