Abstract
Recent developments in tracking technology resulted in the mapping of various marine spawning migration routes of the European eel (Anguilla anguilla). However, migration routes in the North Sea have rarely been studied, despite many large European rivers and hence potential eel growing habitat discharge into the North Sea. In this study, we present the most comprehensive map to date with migration routes by silver European eels in the North Sea and document for the first time successful eel migration through the English Channel. Migration tracks were reconstructed for 42 eels tagged in Belgium and 12 in Germany. Additionally, some eels moved up north to exit the North Sea over the British Isles, confirming the existence of two different routes, even for eels exiting from a single river catchment. Furthermore, we observed a wide range in migration speeds (6.8–45.2 km day−1). We hypothesize that these are likely attributed to water currents, with eels migrating through the English Channel being significantly faster than eels migrating northward.
Highlights
Recent developments in tracking technology resulted in the mapping of various marine spawning migration routes of the European eel (Anguilla anguilla)
The migration routes of eels leaving the North Sea remain largely unknown. This is a critical knowledge gap in any conservation strategy of European eel, because the North Sea is an important area for silver eels that migrate out of various large European rivers that function as important catchments for the yellow eel stage, such as the rivers Rhine, Elbe, Weser, Glomma and Meuse
This study is the first to report on the migration of silver European eels from the North Sea into the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel
Summary
Recent developments in tracking technology resulted in the mapping of various marine spawning migration routes of the European eel (Anguilla anguilla). More than a century after Schmidt’s discovery, spawning European eels nor eggs have ever been found in the ocean and large parts of their marine migration routes remain shrouded in mystery This largely follows from a lack of suitable methods to track eels once they have reached the open ocean. Only seven studies have reported on eel migration routes in the North Sea based on acoustic telemetry and archival data loggers. Five of these included only a limited number (≤ 14) of tracked eels and did not describe any eel exiting the b asin[18–22]. Different routes of varying lengths could show discrepancies in migration speed, so the eels would arrive together with conspecifics at their spawning grounds
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