They can be eaten, but cleaning them is not an easy job. The skin of an eel is thick and slippery with very small scales on it. Freshwater eels like to hide during the day and come out at night to feed. They will eat almost any kind of small animal, whether it is dead or alive. They will even eat each other if they become too many in number.
Freshwater eels are prey to many birds and animals.
The otter is their worst enemy since eel is one of the favorite foods of the otter. When they are too hungry to wait. When they become too many in number. When the ponds dry up. Eel is one of the favorite foods of otters.