International audienceIn the European eel (Anguilla anguilla, L.), the steep decline of reproductive silver eels is partly due to disorientation and mortality during their downstream migration, when facing turbines, but also reservoirs and dams. In the Frémur, an obstructed river in Brittany, which is representative of the western coastal hydrosystem of France, five hydrophones were used to study the downstream migration patterns of twenty acoustically-tagged silver eels. Using this acoustic telemetry design, we showed that, despite exceptionally favourable environmental conditions, silver eels experienced important issues to move downstream the river. Indeed, 75 % of eels were delayed and up to 65 % were definitively stopped in their downstream migration. The 14 m high Bois-Joli dam, located at 5 km from the estuary, and its reservoir were the major obstacles to downstream movements. Eels that managed to move downstream only passed over the dam crest, during the night, and under highly favourable environmental conditions: river flow >1.2 m3.s−1 and water level at the dam >28.26 mNGF (Niveau Général de la France; baseline mean sea level for France). Three different downstream migration behaviours were observed: “successful migrants”, “uncertain migrants” and “unsuccessful migrants”. None of them were related to biological traits, suggesting a behavioural plasticity of silver eels. This study provides useful information to manage eel populations in such water basins that are very likely to be applied to all water reservoirs and dams, which are widespread through the distribution range of European eels

Current knowledge about the downstream migration of sexually mature European eels (Anguilla anguilla) remains incomplete, particularly in still water habitats such as lakes and wetlands subject to water level management. However, for the management of this endangered species, it is important to understand migration dynamics, and contribution to the breeding stock. This study aimed to assess the parameters that trigger and guide the migration of silver eels in the largest floodplain lake and associated wetlands in France (the sluice regulated Grand-Lieu Lake). A telemetry survey of 50 acoustic and PIT-tagged female silver eels was performed during the 2015-2016 migration period. We deployed a novel telemetric approach, using receivers to delimit several restricted virtual boxes to determine the instantaneous location of individuals and to transform simple discrete telemetric data into presence/absence data. The low numbers leaving the lake centre are probably explained by the lack of orienting water flows or other environmental clues, but whilst the fate of 34% (17/50) of the tagged eels is unknown, 18% (9/50) were caught by commercial fishermen. Modelling showed that detections were not clearly associated with environmental factors typically involved in riverine migrations (e.g. current velocity, atmospheric pressure and temperature) but they were particularly associated with higher and increasing water levels and, for eels exiting the lake, a sharp increase when sluice gates were opened to an effective gap of >75 cm. It is concluded that management of water levels and sluice gate opening during the migration period might aid escapement of silver eels.

Charrier, F., Mazel, V., Caraguel, J-M., Abdallah, Y., Le Gurun, L. L., Legault, A., and Laffaille, P. 2012. Escapement of silver-phase European eels, Anguilla anguilla, determined from fishing activities in a Mediterranean lagoon (Or, France). – ICES Journal of Marine Science, 69: 30–33. Escapement of silver eels from a Mediterranean lagoon was estimated by a capture–tagging–recapture and automated tag-reading study. The population of silver-phase eels in the lagoon was estimated to be 13.2 kg ha−1, with an escapement rate from the commercial fishery of 76.8%.

1. The drastic decline in European eel Anguilla anguilla stock is now widely recognized. However, while various causes for this decline have been identified, the relative importance of each cause remains unclear. 2. During the catadromous migration of silver eels, the negative impact of dams is frequently highlighted, but mainly for powered dams (with turbines) or where connectivity is completely ruptured. Mechanical impact due to turbine blades is often considered the most important cause of mortality of silver eels during downstream migration. Consequently, non-powered dams equipped with spillways are often considered safe for the passage of migrating silver eels. 3. We hypothesized that, to understand the negative impacts of dams, a much wider context must be considered than turbine mortality alone. Using an acoustic telemetry survey of silver eels, we demonstrated the negative effects of non-powered dams on downstream migration. 4. Five main impacts on eel populations were highlighted: (i) the attenuation or loss of triggering factors, leading to an absence of or delay in migration; (ii) extra delays and extra distances travelled when crossing the dam; (iii) extra energetic costs of the additional distance traveled as result of exploring the dam and the reservoir to find other escape passages; (iv) the selection of a more risky behavioral phenotype, i.e., bold eels; and (v) direct blocking once migration has started. Mortality was evaluated as a supplementary impact. Some of these effects (attenuation of triggers, extra delays to cross the dam) might be more important than the same effect from powered dams, probably due to the constant high water discharge required for turbines that facilitate the passage of eels. 5. As these "safe" dams are very widespread, they must be considered a potential threat to effective eel conservation. Keywords. acoustic telemetry, silver eels, migration, mortality, non-powered dams, turbines drinking water intake 1. Introduction Diadromous species are fishes that regularly migrate between freshwater and marine This study was funded by the 'Agence de l'Eau Loire Bretagne,' the 'Region Bretagne,' and the 'Syndicat Eau du pays de Saint-Malo.' The study was conducted by the Museum National d'Histoire Naturelle. We thank Fish Pass (Yohan, Francois and Mathieu) and Museum National d'Histoire Naturelle teams, as well as everyone who helped with sampling and collecting data. Institutional and national guides for ethical care and use of laboratory animals were followed.

This study describes a mass marking method suitable for European glass eel Anguilla anguilla, avoiding osmotic shock and reducing fish stress. During a single day, 360,000 glass eels intended for a stocking operation were bathed into an alizarin red S (ARS) solution, at a density of 346 ind.Ál À1 before being released into a freshwater marsh along with unmarked glass eels. After 15 days, examination of marked and unmarked eels kept in enclosures in the marsh showed 100% of otoliths had been successfully marked and that no excess deaths related to marking process had occurred. Seven months after stocking, results from biometric measurements and otolith analysis, carried out on a sample of 53 elvers caught by electrofishing and belonging to the size class of the 0 + cohort, suggest that: (i) the proportions of marked and unmarked remained unchanged, hence suggesting that the marking process had not caused excess mortality, (ii) there was no difference in length, body mass or condition factor between marked and unmarked individuals, demonstrating that marking had caused no harmful effect after 7 months, and (iii) ARS marks in otoliths remained clearly visible. The benefits of this ARS mass marking technique are discussed through a stocking operation.