| Anguillidae (Freshwater eels) |
| 130 cm TL (male/unsexed); 106.5 cm TL (female); max.weight: 7,480.0 g; max. reported age: 32 years |
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benthopelagic; freshwater; brackish; marine; depth range 0 - 3000 m, catadromous |
| Southwest Pacific: east coast of Australia and New Zealand, extending north to New Caledonia. Museum records from Fiji and Tahiti are doubtful. Australian and New Zealand forms sometimes recognized as subspecies. Most easily confused with Anguilla obscura and the surest way of distinguishing them is to count the vertebrae. Reported from Western and American Samoa (Ref. 592). |
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| Occurs in streams, lakes and swamps. More likely inhabits slow flowing streams or still waters (Ref. 26509). Feeds on fishes, crustaceans, mollusks, worms, aquatic plants, and terrestrial and aquatic insects. This species does not breed outside its Pacific spawning ground. Migrates to the sea to breed (Ref. 9258). Maximum length for female eel taken from Ref. 6390. Migrating females in Lake Ellesmere (Canterbury, New Zealand) were reported to be in the range of 48.3 to 102.4 cm, larger than for males 33.8 to 55.4 cm (Ref. 44724). Despite its slimy appearance, its flesh is of excellent quality, considered a delicacy in many countries; meat suitable for smoking (Ref. 33839). |
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Near Threatened (NT); Date assessed: 06 November 2018 Ref. (130435)
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| harmless |
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Present in coastal streams and tributaries from Pine River in southeastern Queensland to the Murray River in South Australia, including Flinders Island in Bass Strait and all of Tasmania except for the central western plateau (Ref. 12755). There is probably just a single stock in Australian waters.
Commercial fishery: The main Australian freshwater eel fishery is located in Victoria where eels have been caught commercially since 1914 (Ref. 26507). The annual Victorian catch has averaged 225 t since 1976 with shortfin eels comprising 95% of the total. Most of the catch is taken during spring and early summer from waters west of Melbourne, particularly in the Hopkins River, Barwon River and Lake Corangamite basins (Ref. 26507). Smaller catches are taken from central and eastern Victoria. Eels in Victoria are caught almost exclusively using fyke nets. Aluminium dinghies with outboard motors are used to set up to 50 nets per licensed holder (Ref. 26507).
The Tasmanian eel fishery has operated since 1965-66 with catches in most years ranging between 20 t and 40 t. Shortfin eels account for 97% of the Tasmanian catch, caught between October and March (Ref. 26515). The catch is taken mainly from coastal lagoons and farm dams with fyke nets. Fyke nets are prohibited from most streams and lakes because they take a high bycatch of trout (Salmonidae). Traps are used in some rivers, including weir-type traps to harvest migrating silver eels.
Most of the Australian eel catch is destined for export markets, with 290 t exported in 1988-1989. The shortfin eel catch is purged in freshwater, eviscerated and snap frozen for export (Ref. 26507). A small proportion is smoked and sold on the domestic market.
Aquaculture: Shortfin eels are farmed using 'extensive' culture techniques in Victoria and Tasmania (Ref 26516). In Victoria, Japanese glass eels nets are used to capture shortfin elvers which are then transferred to natural closed water bodies such as freshwater lakes and swamps (Ref. 26507). Some undersized brown eels are also released into these water bodies. The eels are harvested using fyke nets when they reach a marketable size.
Extensive culture of shortfin eels is also conducted in northern Tasmania. About 30 t were produced by culture there during 1988-89 (Ref. 26516). Some Tasmanian fishers are licensed to trap elvers for stocking of Tasmanian and Victorian lakes. Cultured shortfin eels are handled and marketed by the same methods as in the commercial fishery.
Recreational fishery: Freshwater eels are commonly caught by anglers when line fishing for other species in estuaries or freshwaters (Ref. 26509). They can be targeted by using introduced garden snails (Helicidae) as bait (Ref. 26510). Resource status: The shortfin eel resource in Tasmania and Victoria does not support heavier fishing pressure and an increase in production has to come from expansion of culture operations in recent years (Ref. 26507). There is no information on the status of the New South Wales eel resources.
Also Ref. 1739, 11115. |
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