Temporal Pattern of the Occurrence of Japanese Glass Eels (Anguilla japonica) in the Pearl River Estuary

Abstract

Japanese eels (Anguilla japonica) are a typical migratory fish species with high commercial importance. The Pearl River estuary in southern China is an important natural growing ground for Japanese glass eels, but limited information on Japanese glass eel population characteristics is available, despite their ecological importance. In this paper, we examined the annual patterns of the occurrence of Japanese glass eels in the Pearl River estuary from 2011 to 2022. The most frequently occurring Japanese glass eel’s total length is 5.3 cm. The collecting period extended from December to February, and the collection catch-per-unit-effort (CPUE) decreased significantly from 2011 to 2022. The generalized linear model (GLM) indicated that daily changes in Japanese glass eel collection were significantly affected by tidal range, water temperature, and lunar distance. The catch peak appeared when the tidal range rose to 1.7 m, and the water temperature dropped below 8 °C on the full moon days. Overall CPUE analysis showed no significant periodic and inter-annual variability in the period 2011–2022, with the ARIMA model suggesting that the CPUE is expected to remain stable but low in the coming years (2023–2026), although recruitment ultimately depends on the overall spawning stock.