The three genera listed above all fall within the family Ammodytidae, the sandlances. Members of these genera found in other oceans are not usually called Sand Eels, and species from other parts of the world that are known as sandeels are usually less closely related. None of the Sand Eels are related to the true eels.
Sandeels are an important food source for diving birds, including puffins and shagss. Traditionally they have been little exploited for human food, but increasing fishing of them is thought to be causing problems for some of their natural predators especially the auks which take them in deeper water.
This article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by fixing it.