Document Type
Report
Department/Program
Virginia Institute of Marine Science
Publication Date
2-2024
Abstract
American Eel (Anguilla rostrata) is a valuable commercial species along the Atlantic coast of North America from New Brunswick to Florida. American Eel is also important to the recreational fishery as it is often used live as bait for Striped Bass (Morone saxatilis) and Cobia (Rachycentron canadum). In 2021, 87% of the U.S coastwide commercial landings came from Maryland, the Potomac River, and Virginia (personal communication from the National Marine Fisheries Service, Fisheries Statistics Division). Since the 1980s, harvest along the U.S. Atlantic Coast has declined, with similar patterns occurring in the Canadian Maritime Provinces (Meister and Flagg 1997). The American Eel Benchmark Stock Assessment report (ASMFC 2012) established that the American Eel is depleted in U.S. waters; the 2023 American Eel Benchmark Stock Assessment (ASMFC 2023) confirmed that this stock remains depleted and abundance is lower than what was reported in the 2017 stock assessment update (ASMFC 2017).
The decline in abundance of American Eel has been observed throughout its range, with conflicting evidence regarding spatial synchrony (Richkus and Whalen 1999; Sullivan et al. 2006). Hypotheses for the decline in abundance include shifts in location of the Gulf Stream, pollution, overfishing, parasites, altered oceanic conditions, and barriers to fish passage (Castonguay et al. 1994; Haro et al. 2000; Knights 2003). Additionally, factors such as unfavorable wind‐driven currents may affect glass eel recruitment on the continental shelf and may have a greater impact than fishing mortality or continental climate change (Knights 2003). However, limited knowledge about fundamental biological characteristics of glass eels has complicated interpretation of juvenile abundance trends (Sullivan et al. 2006).
The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) adopted the Interstate Fishery Management Plan (FMP) for the American Eel in November 1999. The FMP calls for efforts to collect American Eel data through both fishery‐dependent and fishery‐independent studies in coastal states. Consequently, member jurisdictions agreed to implement an annual survey for young‐of‐year (YOY or glass) American Eels. The survey is intended to “…characterize trends in annual recruitment of the YOY eels over time [to produce a] qualitative appraisal of the annual recruitment of American Eel to the U.S. Atlantic Coast” (ASMFC 2000). The development of these annual surveys began in 2000 with full implementation in 2001. Survey ‐ 4 ‐ results provide necessary data on coastal recruitment success and contribute to the understanding of American Eel population dynamics. The 2017 American Eel Stock Assessment Update emphasized the continued importance of the coast‐wide survey as an index of recruitment over the historical coastal range in the U.S. and an early warning of potential range contraction of the species (ASMFC 2017). The 2023 American Eel Benchmark Assessment (ASMFC 2023) recommends continuation of glass eel surveys, but eliminates the need to measure length, weight, and pigment stage for glass eels as no discernable patterns were detected in these statistics after 20 years of sampling.
DOI
https://www.doi.org/10.25773/jbhs-vy14
Keywords
American eel -- Virginia; American eel -- Chesapeake Bay (Md. and Va.); Eel fisheries -- Virginia
Funding
This project was supported by the VMRC Marine Recreational Fishing Advisory (MRFAB) and Commercial Fishing Advisory Boards (CFAB), Project No. RF/CF 23‐01.
Recommended Citation
Tuckey, T. D., Royster, D., & Fabrizio, M. C. (2024) Estimating Relative Abundance of Young‐of‐Year American Eel, Anguilla rostrata, in the Virginia Tributaries of Chesapeake Bay (Spring 2023). Virginia Institute of Marine Science, William & Mary. https://www.doi.org/10.25773/jbhs-vy14
