Anguilla anguilla; silver eel; downstream migration; telemetry; River Meuse
Abstract :
[en] Downstream migration of female silver eel Anguilla anguilla (L.) was studied by remote
telemetry in the lower part of the River Meuse (Belgium and The Netherlands) using a
combination of 9 detection stations and manual tracking. N=31 eels (LT 64-90cm) were
implanted with active transponders and released in 2007 into the River Berwijn, a small
Belgian tributary of the River Meuse, 326 km from the North Sea. From August 2007 till April
2008 13 eels (42%) started their downstream migration and were detected at two or more
stations. Mean migration speed was 0.62 m.s-1 (or 53 km.day-1). Only two eels (15%) arrived
at the North Sea, the others being held up or killed at hydroelectric power stations, caught by
fishermen or by predators or stopped their migration and settled in the river delta. A majority
(58%) of the eels classified as potential migrants did not start their migration and settled in
the River Berwijn or upper Meuse as verified by additional manual tracking.
Research center :
AFFISH-RC - Applied and Fundamental FISH Research Center - ULiège
Disciplines :
Zoology
Author, co-author :
Verbiest, Hilde; Research Institute for Nature and Forest (INBO)
Breukelaar, André; Rijkswaterstaat Waterdienst
Ovidio, Michaël ; Université de Liège - ULiège > Département de Biologie, Ecologie, Evolution. > Laboratoire de Démographie des Poissons et d'Hydroécologie (LDPH)
Philippart, Jean-Claude ; Université de Liège - ULiège > Département des sciences et gestion de l'environnement > Biologie du comportement - Ethologie et psychologie animale
Belpaire, Claude; Research Institute for Nature and Forest (INBO)
Language :
English
Title :
Escapement Success And Patterns Of Downstream Migration Of Female Silver Eel Anguilla Anguilla In The River Meuse
Publication date :
May 2012
Event name :
6th World Fisheries Congress Sustainable Fisheries in a Changing World
