A large eel was netted in the Molonglo River and immediately began setting records.

Eels do not occur naturally in the Murrumbidgee or Molonglo rivers and the long-finned eel is the first discovered in the ACT.Estimated to be about 70 years old, the 1.5m, 4kg monster has been named Eric in honour of Equatorial Guinea swimmer Eric ''The Eel'' Moussambani, who gained international fame at the 2000 Sydney Olympics.

Eric, currently living in a tank at Pratt's Tackle Box, was spawned in the Coral Sea, near New Caledonia, before moving down the east coast of Australia and into the river system.But natural barriers prevent eels from entering Australia's inland rivers.

University of Canberra aquatic biologist Associate Professor Mark Lintermans said most eels entered ACT waterways through human introduction.

''People translocate fish quite regularly,'' Associate Professor Lintermans said.

''They go down the coast, bring some back and put them in local water bodies.

''There's been a number of records of eels in the ACT but I haven't heard of one for about 15 or 20 years now.''But the size and age of Eric hints that he was trapped in the Lake Eucumbene when it was dammed in 1957.

Mr Pratt believes Eric made his way from Eucumbene through an 18km pipeline to Tantangara Dam before moving into the Murrumbidgee and Molonglo rivers.

For more, pick up a copy of today's Canberra Times.