A brief biography of the eel: From the Sargasso Sea to the São Mateus Fair in Viseu, passing through the Ria de Aveiro

Abstract

The eels – we consider the European eel: Anguilla Anguilla – are fishes that, in certain aspects, still remain mysterious. Its birth occurs in the distant Sargasso Sea, being dragged by the Gulf Stream, across the Atlantic, for about three years, to the European coast. Here, they migrate to rivers and estuaries, adapting almost immediately to a life in fresh water. The eels undergo metamorphosis, grow and continue their journey through rivers, streams and streams until they find a home with enough food, where they will stay until they reach an age between 12 and 24 years. Then they return to their place of origin to reproduce. In Portugal, eel fishing in the Ria de Aveiro is very old, as well as its use for human consumption. Since the beginning of the 1940s, the COMUR canning factory was established in Murtosa, which favored the conservation of marinated eels. The marinated eels consumed since the 19th century at Feira de São Mateus, in Viseu, arrived from Murtosa in wooden barrels. Today, these barrels have given way to tinplate barrels and the eels from the canning factory, instead of coming from the Ria de Aveiro, are acquired in other countries that cultivate them in captivity. As an endangered species, they are increasingly rare in the Ria. The eel is, however, still a popular fish in this region, inspiring a series of recipes such as eel stew, eel soup, fisherman eels and fried eels with marinated sauce, which are documented in old and recent recipe books. The latter recipe was the one that made Murtosa’s eels famous, and the women who fried the fish, the so-called “fryers” of the Murtosa’s region, were creditors of that fame. The fish, after being fried, was preserved in marinated sauce, made with vinegar, being packaged and sold at «Feira de São Mateus» in Viseu and other fairs in the center of the country, where it was highly appreciated. The tradition continues today.