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Status of Fishery Resources off the Northeastern US NEFSC - Resource Evaluation and Assessment Division | |||
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 Figure 28.1 Statistical Areas Used |
American eels, Anguilla rostrata, are distributed in the Atlantic Ocean from Greenland to Brazil. Along the Atlantic coast of the United States, eels between Maine and Florida are considered part of a single management unit (Figure 28.1). American eels are members of the family Anguillidae and are closely related to the European eel, Anguilla anguilla. Both species spawn in the Sargasso Sea, a warm water area in the middle of the North Atlantic between the Azores and West Indies. American eel larvae spend 9 to 12 months as leptocephali during which time they are transported by the Gulf Stream into coastal U.S. waters. At approximately 60 mm in length, the larvae develop into the first juvenile phase, called glass eels, and migrate into coastal estuaries. As the glass eels grow and become pigmented, they develop into elvers. Elvers may migrate upstream to freshwater or remain in marine estuaries but subsequently develop into sexually immature adults, known as yellow eels. Yellow eels remain in this stage of maturity for as few as 3 or as many as 20-plus years. |
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Maturity appears to be a function
of size rather than age, therefore faster growing individuals mature
earlier. Maximum size is approximately 130 cm for females but only
60 cm for males. Although American eels were classified as the only
catadromous species in North America, the species is now considered
to exhibit facultative catadromy as individuals move into freshwater
systems only under favorable conditions. The freshwater distribution
of eels is influenced by sex as males tend to remain in estuaries
while females migrate upriver. Upon reaching maturity, eels migrate
out of the freshwater or estuary systems and return to the Sargasso
Sea to spawn. Prior to their long ocean return migration to the
spawning grounds, eels undergo significant physical changes, such
as enlargement of the eyes and pectoral fins, changes in visual
pigmentation and changes in body coloration (to what is known as
the silver phase). Additionally, eels cease feeding and the gut
begins to degenerate. Although spawning has never been observed,
eels are believed to die after spawning.
American eels are managed under an interstate fishery management plan developed by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) and implemented in 2001. Management regulations vary by state and involve size limits, reporting requirements, gear restrictions and possession limits in both the commercial and recreational fisheries. |
| The Fishery Total commercial landings
along the U.S. Atlantic coast in 2005 were 427 mt, an increase
from 324 mt in 2004 (Table 28.1, Figure
28.2 [Fig
28.2 Data]). Recent landings are markedly lower than in the
1970s and early 1980s, when landings frequently exceeded 1,000
mt and peaked at over 1,800 mt in 1979. Commercial fisheries have
historically occurred from Maine to Florida and have been directed
at all life stages of eel, from glass eel through silver eel.
Recent changes in size regulations have eliminated the glass eel
fishery in all states except Maine and Florida, with significant
harvests in Maine only. Generally commercial fisheries target
yellow eels in rivers and estuaries using pot gear or fyke nets
and market the catch in Europe and Asia. Recreational landings
of American eel since 1981 have ranged from less than 1 mt to
71 mt, generally accounting for less than 1% of total eel landings
(Figure
28.2 [Fig
28.2 Data]). U.S. recreational harvest in 2005 were slightly
more than 1 mt. Eel catches in the recreational fishery are generally
incidental to other targeted species.
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 Figure 28.2 |
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Research Vessel Survey Indices
American eels rarely occur in NEFSC surveys. Several state fisheries agencies conduct surveys targeting glass eels during upriver migrations. Fishery independent indices are also produced from either incidental catches of yellow eels in tidal estuaries or directed pot surveys of yellow eels. A preliminary analysis of the suite of indices indicates a strong downward trend in abundance (ASMFC 2006a and 2006b); however an analytical assessment of Atlantic coast eel stocks has not been completed. Summary Total American eel landings declined markedly from
1979 until 1996, and have since remained relatively low but stable
at around 400 mt. Resource abundance has declined, due to a combination
of habitat losses (such as blocked passages in both upriver and
downstream migrations), over-exploitation, exposure to lethal contaminants,
and changes in natural mortality. American eel stocks along the
U.S. Atlantic coast underwent a status review in 2005 in response
to a petition to list the species as threatened or endangered under
the Endangered Species Act of 1973. The results of the status review
are still pending. |
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For further information ASMFC. 2006a. Terms of Reference and Advisory Report to the American Eel stock assessment peer review. ASMFC Stock Assessment Report 06-01. 23 p. ASMFC. 2006b. 2006 review of the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission Fishery Management Plan for American Eel (Anguilla rostrata). http://www.asmfc.org/. Collette, B.B. and G. Klein-MacPhee
(ed.). 2002. Bigelow and Schroeder’s Fishes of the Gulf of
Maine. 3rd edition. Smithsonian Inst. Press. Washington, D.C. 748
p. |
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