Massive eel found washed up on Texas beach

"Amazing what we find washing up from the ocean."

TEXAS (Web Desk) - Jace Tunnel, reserve director for the University of Texas Marine Science Institute, said the massive eel was found washed up on a beach at Mission-Aransas Reserve.

Tunnel says in his video, posted to the Mission-Aransas Reserve s Facebook page, that American eels are considered endangered and are rare to encounter. He said the eel that he found washed up was even more rare due to its size -- the largest American eel caught alive in Texas was only about 3 1/2 feet long.

"This right here is larger than what you would normally see. This is like, basically as big as they get," the researcher says in the video.

Tunnel says the eel was likely a female that died after spawning its eggs offshore. American eels are freshwater fish, but they venture into the ocean to spawn their eggs before dying. Each eel can spawn up to 4 million eggs.

"It is rare to find any eel this size washing up on the Texas coast, amazing what we find washing up from the ocean."