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Escapement success and patterns of downstream migration of female silver eel Anguilla anguilla in the River Meuse
Author(s) -
Verbiest Hilde,
Breukelaar André,
Ovidio Michaël,
Philippart JeanClaude,
Belpaire Claude
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
ecology of freshwater fish
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.667
H-Index - 55
eISSN - 1600-0633
pISSN - 0906-6691
DOI - 10.1111/j.1600-0633.2012.00559.x
Subject(s) - escapement , tributary , fishery , downstream (manufacturing) , hydroelectricity , environmental science , telemetry , oceanography , geography , hydrology (agriculture) , ecology , biology , geology , operations management , cartography , geotechnical engineering , economics , aerospace engineering , engineering
– 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 nine detection stations and manual tracking. N = 31 eels ( L T 64–90 cm) 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.