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Latin name Anguilla anguilla. European eels spend the majority of their lives in freshwater. As they mature their characteristic brown and yellow colouration fades and they become silver eels and move into the sea to breed. There is still considerable mystery surrounding this portion of their life cycle although it is known that the eels migrate to the Sargasso sea where they breed. The European eel is of economic importance in several countries where smoked and jellied eel is a delicacy.