S 1 Ages in days at recruitment to coastal waters of Atlantic and North Pacific temperate species of Anguilla, estimated from rings in
otoliths, and back-calculated hatching dates. Only cases where the sample size is ≥3 are included. Two-digit country codes are: CA,
Canada; CN, China; FR, France; IE, Ireland; JP, Japan; MA, Morocco; PO, Portugal; SE, Sweden; SP, Spain; TW, Taiwan. Studies
are identified in Table 1.
Age (d)
Collection location
Collection date
N
Mean ± s.d. Range
Hatching date
Mean
Range or ± s.d.
Study
29 Apr-29 Junb
1
European eel A. anguilla
Dec 1988, Jan 1989a
76
216
30 May
Nov 1987
13
191
8 May
1
Jan-Apr 1989
128
245
Too large a range
1
Vilaine Estuary FR
Nov 1989-May 1990
90
242
Too large a range
1
Severn Estuary UK
Dec 1987, Jan 1988d
30
276
31 Mar
Mar, May 1990e
30
250
8 Jul, 7 Sep
Oued Sebou MA
Cape Finisterre SPc
Loire Estuary FR
The Netherlands
29 Feb-30 Aprb
1
1
Vilaine Estuary FR
7 Feb 1992
13
272
11 May
2
Adour Estuary FR
18 Feb 1992
18
315
9 Apr
2
Somme Estuary FR
15 Mar 1992
33
318
2 May
2
See S 2
3
Vilaine Estuary FR
Vilaine Estuary FR
Winter
77
263
Feb-Aug
4
Vilaine Estuary FR
Summer
8
264
Aug-Nov
4
Minho Estuary PO
15 May 1996
23
249±22.6
9 Sep
±17 Aug-2 Oct
5
Minho Estuary PO
Sep 1995f
8 467.7±26.7
4 Jun
±9 May-1Jul
6
Vilaine Estuary FR
5 Apr 1995
13 455.4±43.9
5 Jan
±22 Nov-17 Feb
6
Severn Estuary UK
1 Apr 1995
11 420.0±38.3
5 Feb
±29 Dec-15 Mar
6
Shannon Estuary IE
9 Apr 1994
24 444.6±39.1
17 Jan
±11 Dec-27 Feb
6
Viskan Estuary SE
13 Apr 1995
56 447.7±41.7
20 Jan
±10 Dec-3 Mar
6
220-281
American eel A. rostrata
Haiti
17 Dec 1995
25 241.6±18.5
19 Apr
±1 Apr-8 May
6, 7
Florida US
28 Feb 1995
4 247.8±16.2
25 Jun
±9 Jun-11 Jul
6, 7
North Carolina US
22 Mar 1995
21 220.4±33.2
14 Aug
±11 Jul-16 Sep
6, 7
Rhode Island US
14 Apr 1995
26 251.8±16.6
5 Aug
±20 Jul-22 Aug
6, 7
New Brunswick CA
28 Apr 1995
17 272.3±15.7
30 Jul
±14 Jul-14 Aug
6, 7
Nova Scotia CA
29 May 1995
32 283.5±18.1
18 Aug
±31 Jul-6 Sep
6, 7
Maine US
20 Apr 1997
15
26 Sep
±4 Sep-18 Oct
5
206±22.3
North Carolina US
2-23 Feb 1994g
25 175.4±12.6
21 Aug
±8 Aug-2 Sep
8
New Jersey US
Feb-Mar 1994h
22 201.2±16.1
12 Aug
±27 Jul-28 Aug
8
6 Jun 1994
43 209.3±18.1
9 Nov
±22 Oct-27 Nov
8
New Brunswick CA
Japanese eel A. japonica
Sendai River JP
11-13 Dec 1981
5
155.2
148-163
10 Jul
2-17 Jul
9
Sendai River JP
6 Jan 1982
3
163.7
152-171
26 Jul
19 Jul-Aug 7
9
Sendai River JP
25 Mar 1982
5
169.8
164-173
6 Oct
3-12 Oct
9
Shih-Ting River TW
16 Nov 1981
4
130.8
120-144
8 Jul
25 Jun-19 Jul
9
Beach TW
3 Jan 1987
20
122.1±8.2
3 Sep
±26 Aug-11 Sep
10
Tanshui River TW
9 Mar 1987
20
119.6±8.8
9 Nov
±1 Nov-18 Nov
10
Estuaries JP
Shuang-Chi Estuary TW
See S 3
4 Nov 1985
14
112.8±9.4
14 Jul
11
±5 Jul-24 Jul
12
Shuang-Chi Estuary TW
14 Dec 1985
18 120.0±10.4
16 Aug
±6 Aug-26 Aug
12
Shuang-Chi Estuary TW
16 Jan 1986
14
129.9±9.7
8 Sep
±29 Aug-18 Sep
12
Shuang-Chi Estuary TW
16 Feb 1986
15 156.5±13.5
12 Sep
±30 Aug-26 Sep
12
Su-Au Estuary TW
22 Dec 1989
9 169.3±14.9 151-187
6 Jul
±21 Jun-21 Jul
13
Sha-Lung Estuary TW
22 Jan 1990
5 175.6±27.8 135-210
30 Jul
±3 Jul-27 Aug
13
Li-Shui Estuary TW
22 Jan 1990
5 165.6±22.6 141-196
9 Aug
±18 Jul-1 Sep
13
Tung-Kang Estuary TW
23 Jan 1990
6 171.7±26.2 123-200
4 Aug
±9 Jul-30 Aug
13
Tung-Kang Estuary TW
30 Dec 1992
16 156.9±17.4
26 Jul
±9 Jul-12 Aug
14
Tung-Kang Estuary TW
24 Mar 1993
14 164.3±14.2
11 Oct
±26 Sep-25 Oct
14
Shuang-Shi Estuary TW
30 Dec 1992
12 157.6±18.8
25 Jul
±7 Jul-13 Aug
14
Shuang-Shi Estuary TW
17 Feb 1993
13 154.7±10.7
15 Sep
±5 Sep-26 Sep
14
Ming-Chiang Estuary CN
1 Mar 1993
20
162.9±8.6
19 Sep
±10 Sep-28 Sep
14
Chyan-Tarng Estuary CN
17 Feb 1993
23 176.5±11.3
24 Aug
±13 Aug-6 Sep
14
Yalu Estuary CN
3 May 1993
23
178.4±9.9
6 Nov
±27 Oct-15 Nov
14
Ichinomiya Estuary JP
10 Jan 1994
10 182.1±12.4
12 Jul
±29 Jun-24 Jul
14
Tanegashima I. beach JP
27 Dec 1996
12 175.0±21.6 143-206
5 Jul
±13 Jun-27 Jul
15
Yalu Estuary CN
21 Apr 1994
11
151.1±7.5
21 Nov
13 Nov-7 Dec
16
Yalu Estuary CN
28 Apr 1994
9
160.2±8.5
19 Nov
7 Nov-3 Dec
16
Jiaozhou Bay CN
8 May 1994
? 147.0±13.2
12 Dec
2 Nov-10 Jan
16
Changjiang Estuary CN
27 Feb 1994
5
137.8±5.6
12 Oct
6-20 Oct
16
Changjiang Estuary CN
28 Mar 1994
6 136.3±10.2
12 Nov
7-29 Nov
16
Changjiang Estuary CN
23 Apr 1994
6 149.3±16.0
25 Nov
3 Nov-28 Dec
16
Oujiang Estuary CN
31 Jan 1994
5
138.6±3.0
14 Sep
9-16 Sep
16
Oujiang Estuary CN
23 Feb 1994
7
138.3±8.0
8 Oct
25 Sep-17 Oct
16
Oujiang Estuary CN
26 Mar 1994
5
137.6±8.5
8 Nov
30 Oct-22 Nov
16
Dongshannei Bay CN
2 Feb 1994
8 144.4±10.3
11 Sep
25 Aug-13 Oct
16
Dongshannei Bay CN
28 Feb 1994
7
145.1±8.8
6 Oct
25 Sep-17 Oct
16
Dongshannei Bay CN
15 Mar 1994
6 138.7±13.5
27 Oct
10 Oct-13 Nov
16
Pearl Estuary CN
27 Jan 1994
7 151.3±10.3
29 Aug
15 Aug-9 Sep
16
Pearl Estuary CN
18 Feb 1994
6
144.8±8.2
26 Sep
28 Sep-17 Oct
16
Pearl Estuary CN
3 Mar 1994
5 155.0±18.0
29 Sep
15 Sep-30 Oct
16
Saigo River JP
25 Feb 1994
4 Sep
±20 Aug-19 Sep
17
26
174±15
Saigo River JP
1 Mar 1994
37
172±14
10 Sep
±27 Aug-24 Sep
17
Saigo River JP
15 Mar 1994
34
178±15
18 Sep
±3 Sep-3 Oct
17
Saigo River JP
9 Apr 1994
33
179±17
12 Oct
±25 Sep-29 Oct
17
Saigo River JP
10 May 1994
22
186±15
5 Nov
±21 Oct-20 Nov
17
Saigo River JP
25 May 1994
20
225±26
12 Oct
±16 Sep-7 Nov
17
Saigo River JP
16 Jan 1995
20
173±18
27 Jul
±9 Jul-14 Aug
18
Saigo River JP
20 Jan 1996
21
173±18
31 Jul
±13 Jul-18 Aug
18
Saigo River JP
3 Feb 1995
23
172±20
15 Aug
±26 Jul-4 Sep
18
Saigo River JP
21 Feb 1996
21
171±21
3 Sep
±13 Aug-24 Sep
18
Saigo River JP
2 Mar 1995
26
177±14
6 Sep
±23 Aug-20 Sep
18
Saigo River JP
17 Mar 1996
25
177±19
22 Sep
±3 Sep-11 Oct
18
Saigo River JP
29 Mar 1995
30
185±22
25 Sep
±3Sep-17 Oct
18
Saigo River JP
16 Apr 1996
22
188±22
11 Oct
±19 Sep-2 Nov
18
Saigo River JP
27 Apr 1995
9
183±17
26 Oct
±9 Oct-12 Nov
18
Saigo River JP
16 May 1996
23
181±19
17 Nov
±29 Oct-6 Dec
18
Saigo River JP
28 May 1995
5
197±29
12 Nov
±14 Oct-11 Dec
18
Saigo River JP
a
8
192±17
Assumed a mean date of 1 Jan 1989.
b
c
14 Jun 1996
Assumed dates of 1 Dec-31 Jan and estimated mean age.
Leptocephali caught at sea near the coast; assumed a mean date of 15 Nov 1987.
d
Assumed a mean date of 1 Jan 1988.
e
Assumed mean dates of 15 Mar and 15 May and estimated mean age.
f
Assumed a mean date of 15 Sep 1995.
g
Assumed a mean date of 12 Feb 1994.
h
Assumed a mean date of 1 Mar 1994.
5 Dec
±18 Nov-22Dec
18
S 2 Ages in days at recruitment to the Vilaine Estuary, France, of the European eel, Anguilla anguilla, estimated from rings in otoliths,
and back-calculated hatching dates in study number 3 (Désaunay et al. 1996b). Only otoliths lacking a marginal growth zone, where
the authors could not count rings, are included. Collection dates were estimated as the middle of the first or second fortnight of the
month of collection.
Age (d)
Collection date
N
Hatching date
Mean ± s.d.
Range
Mean
±s.d.
Range
25 Sep 1991
4
290±45
236-361
9 Dec
25 Oct-23 Jan
29 Sep-1 Feb
10 Oct 1991
2
264±22
242-286
19 Jan
28 Dec-10 Feb
28 Dec-10 Feb
6 Nov 1990
11
280±24
241-312
30 Jan
6 Jan-23 Feb
29 Dec-10 Mar
8 Nov 1991
2
290±3
287-292
22 Jan
19 Jan-25 Jan
20-25 Jan
5 Dec 1990
16
241±13
221-259
8 Apr
26 Mar-21 Apr
21 Mar-28 Apr
10 Dec 1991
5
263±22
244-304
22 Mar
28 Feb-13 Apr
9 Feb-10 Apr
10 Jan 1992
11
310±18
269-335
6 Mar
16 Feb-3 Apr
9 Feb-16 Apr
7 Feb 1992
9
282±24
241-314
1 May
7 Apr-25 May
30 Mar-11 Jun
10 Mar 1992
4
246±14
223-282
8 Jul
24 Jun-22 Jul
2 Jun-31 Jul
27 Mar 1990
11
238±17
212-265
1 Aug
15 Jul-8 Aug
5 Jul-27 Aug
25 Apr 1990
13
231±25
187-282
6 Sep
12 Aug-1 Oct
17 Jul-20 Oct
4 May 1992
1
310
-
29 Jun
11 May 1990
15
212±30
157-261
11 Oct
11 Sep-10 Nov
23 Aug-5 Dec
2 Jun 1992
5
246±25
206-272
30 Sep
5 Sep-25 Oct
4 Sep-9 Nov
30 Jun 1992
3
279±22
254-307
25 Sep
3 Sep-17 Oct
28 Aug-20 Oct
-
S 3 Ages in days at recruitment to various estuaries in Japan of the Japanese eel, Anguilla japonica, estimated from rings in otoliths,
and back-calculated hatching dates in study number 11 (Tsukamoto 1990), arranged by collection date between December 1982 and
April 1983. Sample size each date was 5, except as noted.
Hatching date
Collection location Collection date
Mean age (d) ± s.d.
Mean
± s.d.
Kagoshima
23 Dec
227±21
10 May
19 Apr-31 May
Chiba
24 Dec
207±19
31 May
12 May-19 Jun
Shizuoka
30 Dec
180±20
3 Jul
13 Jun-23 Jul
Wakayama
6 Jan
206±47
14 Jun
28 Apr-31 Jul
Shizuoka
11 Jan
219±45
6 Jun
22 Apr-21 Jul
Kochi
12 Jan
222±21
4 Jun
14 May-25 Jun
Kagoshima
22 Jan
216±19
20 Jun
1 Jun-9 Jul
24 Jan (N=4)
230±32
8 Jun
7 May-10 Jul
1 Feb
243±30
3 Jun
4 May-3 Jul
Chiba
Fukuoka
Ohita
1 Feb
215±40
1 Jul
22 May-10 Aug
Kochi
1 Feb
197±16
19 Jul
3 Jul-4 Aug
Kochi
16 Feb
213±31
18 Jul
17 Jun-18 Aug
Wakayama
16 Feb
218±26
13 Jul
17 Jun-8 Aug
Fukuoka
26 Feb
211±23
30 Jul
7 Jul-22 Aug
Ohita
1 Mar
223±26
21 Jul
25 Jun-16 Aug
Fukuoka
2 Mar
201±13
13 Aug
31 Jul-26 Aug
Okayama
3 Mar
226±20
20 Jul
30 Jun-9 Aug
Miyagi
7 Mar
214±39
5 Aug
27 Jun-13 Sep
Okayama
10 Mar
206±26
16 Aug
21 Jul-11 Sep
Fukuoka
14 Mar
213±26
13 Aug
8 Jul-8 Sep
Wakayama
17 Mar
226±23
3 Aug
11 Jul-26 Aug
Kagoshima
22 Mar
210±32
24 Aug
23 Jul-25 Sep
Shizuoka
26 Mar
225±33
13 Aug
11 Jul-15 Sep
Okayama
30 Mar
235±13
7 Aug
25 Jul-20 Aug
Ohita
31 Mar
224±38
19 Aug
12 Jul-26 Sep
Miyagi
31 Mar
216±31
27 Aug
27 Jul-27 Sep
Chiba
14 Apr
223±29
3 Sep
5 Aug-2 Oct
Fukuoka
15 Apr
232±22
26 Aug
4 Aug-17 Sep
Fukuoka
16 Apr
242±20
17 Aug
28 Jul-6 Sep
Miyagi
30 Apr
231±34
11 Sep
8 Aug-15 Oct
S 4 Ages in days at recruitment to coastal waters of South Pacific temperate species and Indo-Pacific tropical species of Anguilla,
estimated from rings in otoliths, and back-calculated hatching dates. Only cases where the sample size is ≥3 are included. Two-digit
country codes are: AU, Australia; ID, Indonesia; NZ, New Zealand; PH, Phillipines; PF, French Polynesia; RE, Réunion Island; TW,
Taiwan. Studies are identified in Table 1.
Age (d)
Collection location
Collection date
N
Mean ± s.d.
Hatching date
Range
Mean
Range or ± s.d.
Study
Australian shortfin eel A. australis
Makara Stream NZ
4 Sep 1996
10
284±32.2
239-338
25 Nov
±24 Oct-27 Dec
19
Pigeon Bay Stream NZ
6 Sep 1996
15
237±20.0
208-266
13 Jan
±24 Dec-2 Feb
20
Arahura River NZ
22 Aug 1996
15
232±19.8
214-263
3 Jan
±14 Dec-23 Jan
20
Arahura River NZ
22 Aug 1996
22
258±19.7
8 Dec
±18 Nov-28 Dec
21
Purau Stream NZ
29 Aug 1996
19
246±14.5
27 Dec
±12 Dec-10 Jan
21
Albert River AU
10 Jul 1996
15
208±17.4
15 Dec
±28 Nov-1 Jan
20
Kolan River AU
1, 16 Jul 1997a
33
214±14.6
6 Dec
±21 Nov-21 Dec
21
Albert River AUb
2 May 1997
22
214
30 Sep
25 Aug-25 Oct
21, 22
Albert River AUb
2 Jun 1997
5
234
11 Oct
25 Sep-25 Oct
21, 22
Fitzroy River AU
7 Aug 1998
29
223±17.7
27 Dec
±9 Dec-14 Jan
21
Port Hacking River AUb
17 Jun 1998
12
243
17 Oct
25 Sep-25 Nov
21, 22
Port Hacking River AUb
18 Jul 1998
14
242
18 Nov
15 Oct-25 Dec
21, 22
Brodribb River AUb
11 Jul 1997
12
239
14 Nov
25 Oct-15 Dec
21, 22
Brodribb River AUb
5 Sep 1997
19
258
21 Dec
5 Nov-25 Jan
21, 22
Tarwin River AUb
18 Jul 1997
9
251
9 Nov
15 Oct-5 Dec
21, 22
Tarwin River AUb
19 Sep 1997
28
266
27 Dec
25 Oct-5 Feb
21, 22
186-239
New Zealand longfin eel A. dieffenbachii
Pigeon Bay Stream NZ
9 Aug 1996
10
311±25.3
283-360
3 Oct
±8 Sep-28 Oct
19
Arahura River NZ
22 Aug 1996
10
318±29.6
256-347
9 Oct
±9 Sep-8 Nov
19
Australian longfin eel A. reinhardtii
Barron River AUb
28 Jan 1998
9
199
13 Jul
5-25 Jul
22
Barron River AUb
10 Mar 1998
9
191
31 Aug
5 Aug-15 Sep
22
Barron River AUb
26 May 1998
12
191
16 Nov
5 Oct-5 Dec
22
Fitzroy River AUb
7 Jul 1998
31
203
16 Dec
15 Nov-15 Jan
22
Albert River AUb
10 Nov 1997
33
202
22 Apr
15 Mar-5 Jun
22
Albert River AUb
7 May 1998
28
209
10 Oct
15 Sep-5 Nov
22
Albert River AUb
12 May 1999
29
210
14 Oct
25 Sep-25 Nov
22
Port Hacking River AUb
18 Apr 1999
29
196
4 Oct
5 Sep-25 Oct
22
5 Dec
±19 Nov-21 Dec
23
13 Sep-18 Jan
24
Indian shortfin eel A. bicolor bicolor
Cimandiri River ID
30 May 1996
12
177±16.4
148-202
Roches Estuary RE
Oct 2000-Oct 2001
11
79.8±7.7c
68-96
Indonesian shortfin eel A. bicolor pacifica
Dumoga River ID
5 Jun 1996
15
173±13.3
151-195
15 Dec
±2 Dec-28 Dec
25
Dumoga River ID
22 Jul 1996
10
159±24.5
124-202
14 Feb
±20 Jan-9 Mar
25
Along coast PH
30 Jan 1998
12
221±28.0
185-273
23 Jun
±26 May-21 Jul
19
Poigar River ID
13 Oct 1996
3
177
169-178
19 Apr
27 Apr-18 Apr
19
Poigar River ID
Monthly
15
175±20b,c
Apr-Nov
26
Indonesian mottled eel A. celebesensis
Cagayan River PH
24 Sep 1994
13
157±13.7
130-177
20 Apr
±6 Apr-4 May
23
Poigar River ID
13 Oct 1996
14
112±14.3
98-144
23 Jun
±9 Jun-7 Jul
19
Along coast PH
30 Jan 1998
3
157
147-167
26 Aug
16 Aug-5 Sep
19
Poigar River ID
Monthly
Most months
26
Poigar River ID
189
107±7b,c
10 Jan 1997
15
106±9b
26 Sep
±17 Sep-4 Oct
27
Poigar River ID
9 Feb 1997
5
119±11b
13 Oct
±2-24 Oct
27
Poigar River ID
9 Apr 1997
24
106±12b
24 Dec
±12 Dec-5 Jan
27
Poigar River ID
8 May 1997
29
109±8b
19 Jan
±11-27 Jan
27
Poigar River ID
7 Jun 1997
26
112±13b
15 Feb
±2-28 Feb
27
Poigar River ID
7 Jul 1997
4
114±9b
15 Mar
±6-24 Mar
27
Poigar River ID
5 Aug 1997
29
114±9b
13 Apr
±4-23 Apr
27
Poigar River ID
31 Oct 1997
23
105±11b
18 Jul
±7-29 Jul
27
Poigar River ID
29 Nov 1997
27
108±12b
13 Aug
±1 Aug-25 Aug
27
Poigar River ID
30 Dec 1997
7
113±14b
8 Sep
±25 Aug-22 Sep
27
18 Jun
4 Jun-26 Jun
9
Giant mottled eel, Anguilla marmorata
Shih-Ting River TW
16 Nov 1981
3
151
143-165
Hamuta Estuary PF
22 Feb 1990
15
131±12
14 Oct
±2-26 Oct
28
Poso Estuary ID
16 Sep 1993
28
96±21
12 Jun
±22 May-3 Jul
28
Shuang Hsi Estuary TW 23 Dec 1993
17
105±8
9 Sep
±1-17 Sep
28
Tanshui Estuary TW
23-25 Jan 1994
15
111±12
5 Oct
±23 Sep-17 Oct
28
Cagayan River PH
24 Sep 1994
10
154±13.5
136-178
23 Apr
±9 Apr-6 May
23
Dumoga River ID
5 Jun 1996
18
152±15.2
129-177
5 Jan
±21 Dec-20 Jan
23
Poigar River ID
13 Oct 1996
13
165±8.6
150-178
1 May
±22 Apr-10 May
19
Mindanao Island PH
30 Jan 1998
16
190±18.2
167-237
24 July
±6 Jul-11 Aug
19
Poigar River ID
7 Jul 1997
20
159±11.5
141-182
29 Jan
±17 Jan-9 Feb
29
Tanegasima Island JP
16 Feb 1999
19
155±16.8
137-189
14 Sep
±28 Aug-1 Oct
29
Tung-Kang River TW
15 Feb 1999
19
146±15.5
116-167
22 Sep
±6 Sep-7 Oct
29
Poigar River ID
Monthly
68
157±18b,c
All months
26
Poigar River ID
10 Jan 1997
11
153±11 b
10 Aug
±30 Jul-21 Aug
27
Poigar River ID
9 Feb 1997
5
145±11b
17 Sep
±6-28 Sep
27
Poigar River ID
10 Mar 1997
7
146±13b
15 Oct
±2-28 Oct
27
Poigar River ID
9 Apr 1997
4
150±14b
10 Nov
±27 Oct-24 Nov
27
Poigar River ID
7 Jun 1997
4
146±14b
12 Jan
±29 Dec-26 Jan
27
Poigar River ID
7 Jul 1997
26
163±16b
25 Jan
±9 Jan-10 Feb
27
Poigar River ID
31 Oct 1997
3
156±11b
28 May
±17 May-8 Jun
27
Poigar River ID
29 Nov 1997
3
145b
7 Jul
Roches Estuary RE
Oct 2000-Oct 2001
9
120.2±24.7c
Poso Estuary ID
15 Jan 1999d
23
97.3±12.3
Poso Estuary ID
15 Feb 1999d
19
102.3±7.6
86-160
27
6 Sep-22 Dec
24
10 Oct
±27 Sep-22 Oct
30
5 Nov
±28 Oct-12 Nov
30
African longfin eel, Anguilla mossambica
Roches Estuary RE
a
12
123.6±17.0c
96-151
Used 8 Jul as mean date.
b
c
Oct 2000-Oct 2001
Estimated from a graph.
Collections were made over too many months, making a mean hatching date meaningless.
d
Only the month was given in paper; assumed dates of 15 January and 15 February.
15 Jul-22 Oct
24