Population Decline of the American Eel: Implications for Research and Management

We present evidence for a decline in the population of the American eel (Anguilla rostrata) from several widely distributed regions of North America from 1984 to 1995. Trends in population indices from commercial catch data, upstream passage counts, and seine, trawl, and electrofishing surveys were analyzed and found to be either not significant or significantly negative. Explanations for this decline, whether natural or anthropogenic, are …