Australia country information

Common names: Australian shortfinned eel, Freshwater eel, River eel
Occurrence: native
Salinity: freshwater
Abundance: common (usually seen) | Ref: Sloane, R.D., 1984
Importance: commercial | Ref: Hall, D.N., D.J. Harrington and P.S. Fairbrother, 1990
Aquaculture: commercial | Ref: Arthington, A.H. and F. McKenzie, 1997
Regulations: restricted | Ref: Kailola, P.J., M.J. Williams, P.C. Stewart, R.E. Reichelt, A. McNee and C. Grieve, 1993
Uses: gamefish: yes;
Comments: 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.
National Checklist:
Country Information: https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/resources/the-world-factbook/geos/as.html
National Fisheries Authority: http://www.csiro.au/
Occurrences: Occurrences Point map
Main Ref: Kailola, P.J., M.J. Williams, P.C. Stewart, R.E. Reichelt, A. McNee and C. Grieve, 1993
National Database:

Common names from other countries

Anguille d'Australie, Anguila australiana, Shortfin eel, ... more

Classification / Names Populärnamn | synonymer | Catalog of Fishes(Släkte, Arter) | ITIS | CoL | WoRMS | Cloffa

> Anguilliformes (Eels and morays) > Anguillidae (Freshwater eels)
Etymology: Anguilla: Latin, anguilla, .-ae = eel (Ref. 45335).
More on author: Richardson.

Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range Ekologi

marina; sötvatten; brackvatten bentopelagisk; katadrom (Ref. 9258); djupintervall 0 - 3000 m (Ref. 86942). Subtropical; 18°S - 47°S, 140°E - 168°E

Utbredning Länder | FAO områden | Ekosystem | Förekomster | Point map | Utplanteringar | Faunafri

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).

Size / Vikt / Age

Maturity: L_m ? range ? - ? cm
Max length : 130 cm TL hane/ej könsbestämd; (Ref. 40637); 106.5 cm TL (female); common length : 45.0 cm TL hane/ej könsbestämd; (Ref. 9258); common length :65 cm TL (female); publicerad maxvikt: 7.5 kg (Ref. 40637); rapporterad maxålder: 32 år (Ref. 6390)

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).

Life cycle and mating behavior Könsmognad | Reproduktion | Lek | Ägg | Fecundity | Larver

Main reference Upload your references | referenser | Koordinator | Medarbetare

Allen, G.R., 1989. Freshwater fishes of Australia. T.F.H. Publications, Inc., Neptune City, New Jersey. (Ref. 5259)

IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435)

Near Threatened (NT) ; Date assessed: 06 November 2018

CITES (Ref. 128078)

Not Evaluated

CMS (Ref. 116361)

Not Evaluated

Threat to humans

Harmless

Human uses

Fiskeri: kommersiell; Vattenbruk: kommersiell; sportfisk: ja

FAO(Vattenbruk: produktion; fiskeri: produktion; publication : search) | FishSource |

Ytterligare information

Länder
FAO områden
Ekosystem
Förekomster
Utplanteringar
Stocks
Ekologi
Föda
Födoslag
Födointag
Näringsinnehåll

Populärnamn
synonymer
Metabolik
Predatorer
Ekotoxikologi
Reproduktion
Könsmognad
Lek
Fecundity
Ägg
Egg development

Age/Size
Tillväxt
Length-weight
Length-length
Length-frequencies
Morfometri
Morfologi
Larver
Larvdynamik
Rekrytering
Abundans

referenser
Vattenbruk
Vattenbruksprofil
Avelslinjer
Genetik
Electrophoreses
Ärftlighet
Sjukdomar
Behandling
Mass conversion

Medarbetare
Bilder
Stamps, Coins Misc.
Ljud
Ciguatera
Hastighet
Simsätt
Gälyta
Otoliths
Hjärnstorlek
Syn

Verktyg

Special reports

Check for Aquarium maintenance | Check for Species Fact Sheets | Check for Aquaculture Fact Sheets

Download XML

Summary page | Point data | Populärnamn | Photos

Internet-källor

Estimates based on models

Preferred temperature (Ref. 115969): 4.3 - 9.1, mean 5.3 (based on 57 cells).

Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref. 82804): PD₅₀ = 0.5000 [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].

Bayesian length-weight: a=0.00068 (0.00054 - 0.00085), b=3.16 (3.11 - 3.21), in cm Total Length, based on LWR estimates for this species (Ref. 93245).

Trofisk nivå (Ref. 69278): 4.3 ±0.5 se; based on diet studies.

Resiliens (Ref. 120179): Låg, lägsta populationsfördubblingstid 4,5-14 år (tm=8-30; Fec=3,000,000).

Fishing Vulnerability (Ref. 59153): Very high vulnerability (78 of 100).

Price category (Ref. 80766): Unknown.

Anguilla australis Richardson, 1841