Outlook

The future of the American eel in Ontario waters is uncertain. The low numbers of eel migrating into the upper St. Lawrence River and Lake Ontario in recent years suggest that the eel populations will remain low and will not provide a commercial resource for at least the next decade.

Information Sources

The information provided in this document is based on data collected for the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources’ fish monitoring programs and on information from scientific reports and research scientists. 

• Ministry of Natural Resources, Lake Ontario Management Unit - Annual Report 2006 www.glfc.org/lakecom/loc/mgmt_unit/homepage2006_page0009.htm
• American eel returning to Ontario waters
  www.mnr.gov.on.ca/en/Newsroom/LatestNews/MNR_E004286.html
• American eel Fact Sheet produced by the Ministry of Natural Resources
  www.mnr.gov.on.ca/en/Newsroom/LatestNews/MNR_E004285.html
• DFO and Provinces Release American Eel Management Strategy
  www.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/media/newsrel/2004/hq-ac79_e.htm
• Underwater World: American Eel published by Fisheries and Oceans Canada
  www.dfo-mpo.gc.ca
• The American Eel: Considering Endangered Species Act Protection, published by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service
  www.fws.gov/northeast/ameel/
• Casselman, J. M. 2003. Dynamics of resources of the American eel, Anguilla rostrata: Declining abundance in the 1990s. In Aida, K., K. Tsukomoto, and K. Yamauchi, Editors. Eel Biology. Springer-Verlag, Tokyo, Japan.
• Castonguay, M., P.V. Hodson, C.M. Couillard, M.J. Eckersley, J-D Dutil, and G. Verreault. 1994. Why is recruitment of the American eel, Anguilla rostrata, declining in the St. Lawrence River and Gulf? Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 51:479-488.
• EIFAC/ICES Working Group on Eels. 2001. Report of the EIFAC/ICES Working Group on Eels, St. Andrews, N.B., 28 August – 1 September 2000. Advisory Committee on Fisheries Management, International Council for the Exploration of the Sea, ICES CM 2001/ACFM:03, Copenhagen.