Dispersal characteristics and pathways of Japanese glass eel in the East Asian Continental Shelf
Journal
Sustainability (Switzerland)
Journal Volume
11
Journal Issue
9
Date Issued
2019
Author(s)
Hsiung, Kuan-Mei
Zhang, Heng
Chow, Lai-Yin
Tzeng, Wann-Nian
Shinoda, Akira
Yoshinaga, Tatsuki
Hur, Sung-Pyo
Hwang, Sun-Do
Iizuka, Yoshiyuki
Kimura, Shingo
Abstract
The Japanese eel Anguilla japonica is an important aquaculture fish species in the East Asian countries of Japan, China, Korea, and Taiwan. All glass eel fry are captured from the wild and understanding the recruitment patterns of the glass eel is important. The larvae of A. japonica are passively transported to the East Asian Continental Shelf by the North Equatorial Current, the Kuroshio, the Kuroshio intrusion currents, and coastal currents. In each location, recruitment time is diverse: It is November in Taiwan and April in the Yalu River. How the glass eels reach recruitment areas remains poorly understood. Here, we combine information from larval ages based on otolith increments, simulated drifting paths on the East Asian Continental Shelf, and main fishing seasons in each location of East Asia. We identify five main recruitment blocks: (1) The main Kuroshio, (2) The Taiwan StraitWarm Current, (3) The TaiwanWarm Current, (4) The Yellow SeaWarm Current and (5) The branch of Yellow Sea Warm Current. The counted age of the glass eels is significantly underestimated for the later recruits, possibly due to the cessation of the otolith edge growth under low water temperatures. This study clarifies the eel's larval characteristics and transport mechanisms in the East Asia Continental Shelf, providing important information for its recruitment dynamics in the marine stage. © 2019 by the authors.
Subjects
Anguilla japonica; Glass eel; Kuroshio; Leptocephalus; North Equatorial Current (NEC); Otolith daily increments
SDGs
Other Subjects
coastal current; continental shelf; dispersal; eel; fishing; growth; otolith; recruitment (population dynamics); Far East; Kuroshio Current; North Equatorial Current; Pacific Ocean; Taiwan Warm Current; Yalu River; Anguilla japonica
Type
journal article