Eel can be quite good - I’ve had it smoked, in Asian dishes, and in Spain, where they catch eel in the rice fields on the Mediterranean and put it into paella.
However, nothing caught in the open sewage channel that was the Hudson in the 50s and 60s should have been eaten by human beings. Eels were simply the only thing that could live there.
As detestable as Pete Seeger’s politics were, he did an enormous amount to clean up the Hudson, and it really is thanks to him that the whole idea of cleaning up our rivers took off. It may pain me to say this, but ya have to give credit where it’s due!