The Coinage 2018/I includes the Finnish metal circulation coins of 2018 in BU quality and is the third Mint of Finland coinage with Fish of the Baltic Sea as its theme. A medal with a European eel motif is set at the centre of the coinage.
The European eel is a powerful predator that can survive in diverse environments, but prefers shallow and warm waters with plenty of vegetation. The eel hunts at night, slithering like a snake, and retreats to its hiding place at the bottom for the day.
It spends the whole winter in hiding. The reproduction of European eels is still partly shrouded in mystery. It is suspected that the eels spawn at depths of 400–700 metres in the Sargasso Sea. Immediately upon hatching, the eel larvae begin their long voyage on the ocean currents towards the fresh waters of Europe.
The European eel is classified as critically endangered in Finland.