The dynamics of the nematode Anguillicola crassus, Kuvahara 1974 in eel Anguilla anguilla (L. 1758) in the Sebou estuary (Morocco)

Abstract

The European eel is a vulnerable fish by its complex life cycle, by the impact of pollution of the near total of freshwater aquatic environments, and by the gravity and the diversity of its parasites (nematodes, cestodes, trematodes, the Copepoda, Coccidia...). It is classified in the red book of threatened species. The anguillulose is the principal parasitic pathology of an eel either in the natural environment or in the aquaculture. The eels taken in the three zones of the Sebou estuary of varied environmental conditions were dissected for the research of parasites. Of the fish, 85.7% are infested upstream of the estuary, whereas only 71% shelter this parasite in their swim bladder, with an abundance of 2.09 per fish downstream and 83.8 in zone 2. The present study suggests the development stage of the fish, and therefore its diet, has an influence on the parasitic infestation. The estuaries and the lagoons constitute a very significant medium for the safeguarding and the disinfection of parasitized eels.