Australian Geographic – July-August 2019

As its common name suggests,

Australia’s longfin eel can be

distinguished from our other

freshwater eel species by its

longer dorsal fin.

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July. August 19

and they don’t eat this entire time.

We think they spawn somewhere

between New Guinea and New

Caledonia because fishing trawlers have

picked up larval eels from this area.”

Those larval eels would have been

on their way to Australia, by way of the

East Australian Current (EAC), which

distributes them along the east coast.

“As they drift, they turn from larval

eels into glass eels – basically, a fully

formed juvenile eel but see-through,”

Jarod explains.

“Then they enter fresh water and

that’s where they pick up their pig-

mentation.”

At about the age of 25 years longfins begin

to move out of the freshwater systems.

PHOTO CREDITS, FROM TOP: COURTESY ARTHUR RYLAH

INSTITUTE;

COURTESY CENTENNIAL PARKLANDS

Knowledge about why the two

different eel species settle where they

do is limited. “We don’t know why

longfins stop at Western Port, south-

east of Melbourne, and shortfins keep

going all the way across to the Glenelg

River, which runs through both

Victoria and South Australia.”

This is among many questions

Jarod and his Arthur Rylah team are

hoping to answer. The researchers are

now working with the Gunditjmara

people of south-western Victoria to

develop a better understanding of the

eels’ remarkable life cycle and their

incredible journey, which has until

now only been explained through

educated guesswork.

The project is part of Biodiversity

2037, a Victorian state government

initiative that aims to increase

Justin O’Connor, from the Arthur Rylah

Institute, has his hands full with a slippery

shortfin eel.

Many of Australia’s eels reach maturity

and spend most of their lives in urbanised

parklands along the east coast.