28 July 2020 – Eel season has started and our team is collecting samples to learn more about the life history strategies of the European eel. Eels are catadromous, meaning that they spawn in the sea but grow in freshwater. However, some individuals skip the freshwater phase and complete their life-cycle in marine coastal waters.
During our current field work, eels are caught with fyke nets in lakes around Austevoll, Norway. These samples will be analyzed for fatty acids, stable isotopes, age, and otolith microchemistry and will later be compared to individuals collected in the marine environment.
This work is being conducted under a project – MAREEL – funded by the Research Council of Norway.
Photo above = Caroline Durif sampling.
Photo below = Mehis Rohtla setting a net.
