Eel on the move: fish migration and the construction of “flowing spaces” on the Rhine and Weser Rivers (1880–1930)

Sturgeon, salmon, and eel—almost all of the fish species which guaranteed German inland fisheries a profitable living over the last centuries change habitats between oceans and rivers. The European eel follows one of the most spectacular migratory regimes: eels spend most of their lifespan in freshwater before returning to the sea to spawn and die. During their migration their motion, bodies, and nutritional value undergo a substantial transformation. This article argues that these migratory patterns were predicated upon a range of unforeseen consequences which in turn affected fishing practices, patterns of consumption, and species protection regimes along German watercourses. Retracing the migratory paths taken by the eel, it is possible to demonstrate that the variable nature of their peculiar biology served to structure “flowing spaces” of connectivity and disjunction. The empirical analysis focuses on eel migration in the river basins of the Rhine and Weser Rivers, where the resilient species gained large and growing economic importance in the early twentieth century.