Point sampling the abundance of European eel ( Anguilla anguilla ) in freshwater areas

• Published in: Archiv für Hydrobiologie
• Main Authors: Laffaille, Pascal, Briand, Cédric, Fatin, Denis, Lafage, Denis, Lasne, Emilien
• Other Authors: Fish Pass, Université de Rennes 1 (UR1), Université de Rennes (UNIV-RENNES), Institution d'aménagement de la Vilaine (IAV)
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: HAL CCSD 2005
• Subjects: anguilla; electrofishing; methodology; monitoring; stock; [SDV]Life Sciences [q-bio]; Anguilla anguilla
• Online Access: https://hal.inrae.fr/hal-02683260; https://hal.inrae.fr/hal-02683260/document; https://hal.inrae.fr/hal-02683260/file/Laffaille%20et%20al.%202005%20AH_FAL_1.pdf; https://doi.org/10.1127/0003-9136/2005/0162-0091

International audience The European eel population is in decline. Urgent management actions are required. To monitor their effect, we developed a fast sampling method, applicable in shallow rivers and tributaries. We compared the Carle & Strub estimator from 35 double pass electric fishing samples with Point Abundance Sampling by Electrofishing or PASE (24 point samples on average by section) which we adapted for the eel. The correlation between both methods was highly significant (r2 = 94%, p < 0.001) for densities lower than 150 eels · 100 m−2. PASE, being a cheaper sampling method, thus constitutes an efficient and cost-effective method for evaluating management actions and further biological studies.