eels spawn in freshwater. The eels come from across the ocean and spawn here. The eels here cross the ocean and spawn over in the sargasso sea I believe, or somewhere over there, so in reality there is no fresh or saltwater eel perse. I don' t supose your talking about a lamprey eel, they liveand spawn in freshwater and are a parasite. Wouldn' t even think of tasting one let alone eat the whole thing. Hope this clears things up. Although I' m no biologist . But Love smoked or fried eels.