Estuarine-Specific Migration of Glass Eels in the Ems Estuary

Abstract

Understanding recruitment of glass eels in estuaries is crucial for the conservation of the European eel (Anguilla anguilla). However, basic knowledge on estuarine-specific glass eel migration, including in estuarine harbours, is mostly lacking. Therefore, we studied glass eel migration in the Dutch–German Ems estuary and the harbour at Delfzijl (The Netherlands) and tagged glass eels with Visual Implant Elastomer tags (VIE tags). We released 2000 tagged glass eels into the Ems estuary itself and 1000 tagged glass eels into the tidal harbour at Delfzijl. At three estuarine locations, i.e., Delfzijl–Duurswold, Termunterzijl, and Nieuwe Statenzijl, glass eel collectors were strategically placed, each location being progressively situated further upstream in the Ems estuary. Most glass eels (nuntagged = 97,089, ntagged = 74) were caught at Nieuwe Statenzijl, although this location is much further upstream. Lower numbers of glass eels (nuntagged = 1856, n tagged = 31) were caught at Delfzijl–Duurswold and Termunterzijl (nuntagged = 1192, ntagged = 7). Glass eels arrived approximately a week earlier at Nieuwe Statenzijl than at the other two locations, and the migration speed of tagged glass eels was highest at Nieuwe Statenzijl (>2 km/day) and lower (<1 km/day) at Delfzijl–Duurswold. Our study highlights that migration and the resulting potential recruitment of glass eels in estuaries and harbours may vary considerably both spatially and temporally. Further research on estuarine-specific factors that influence glass eel migration, such as the (anthropogenically altered) tidal action and flow, will provide valuable information on what influences glass eel migration in estuaries.