European Ocean Biodiversity Information System
[ report an error in this record ]basket (0): add | show Print this page
Heading south or north: novel insights on European silver eel Anguilla anguilla migration in the North Sea
Huisman, J.; Verhelst, P.; Deneudt, K.; Goethals, P.L.M.; Moens, T.; Nagelkerke, L.A.J.; Nolting, C.; Reubens, J.; Schollema, P.P.; Winter, H.V.; Mouton, A. (2016). Heading south or north: novel insights on European silver eel Anguilla anguilla migration in the North Sea. Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser. 554: 257-262. https://dx.doi.org/10.3354/meps11797
In: Marine Ecology Progress Series. Inter-Research: Oldendorf/Luhe. ISSN 0171-8630; e-ISSN 1616-1599
Related to:
Verhelst, P. (2018). Heading south or north: novel insights on European silver eel Anguilla anguilla migration in the North Sea, in: Verhelst, P. European eel (Anguilla anguilla L.) movement behaviour in relation to habitat fragmentation - Novel insights inferred from acoustic telemetry. pp. 237-250, more
Peer reviewed article  
Available in  Authors 
    Vlaams Instituut voor de Zee: Open access 296403 [ download pdf ]
Keywords
    Anguilla anguilla (Linnaeus, 1758) [WoRMS]
    Marine/Coastal
Author keywords
    European eel · Marine migration · Telemetry · Conservation
Authors  Top 
  • Huisman, J.
  • Verhelst, P.
  • Deneudt, K.
  • Goethals, P.L.M.
  • Moens, T.
  • Nagelkerke, L.A.J.
  • Nolting, C.
  • Reubens, J.
  • Schollema, P.P.
  • Winter, H.V.
  • Mouton, A.
Abstract
    The European eel Anguilla anguilla L. is a critically endangered fish species that migrates from coastal and freshwater habitats to the Sargasso Sea to spawn. However, the exact migration routes and destination of European eel are still unknown. We are the first to observe southward migrating silver eels in the North Sea. Eels were tagged with acoustic transmitters in 3 different river catchments in Western Europe and swam to the Dutch-Belgian coastal zone during their spawning migration. Therefore, at least part of the Western European population of eels migrates towards the English Channel, in contrast with the Nordic migration route hypothesis. This different migratory route may affect the energy reserve available for spawning and therefore the contribution of these eels to the population. As such, increasing our knowledge of marine eel migrations contributes to the goal of achieving sustainable eel stock management.
All data in the Integrated Marine Information System (IMIS) is subject to the VLIZ privacy policy Top | Authors