Dispersal Characteristics and Pathways of Japanese Glass Eel in the East Asian Continental Shelf

Yu-San Han, Kuan-Mei Hsiung, Heng Zhang, Lai-Yin Chow, Wann-Nian Tzeng, Akira Shinoda, Tatsuki Yoshinaga, Sung-Pyo Hur, Sun-Do Hwang, Yoshiyuki Iizuka and Shingo Kimura
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Yu-San Han: Institute of Fisheries Science, College of Life Science, National Taiwan University, Taipei 10617, Taiwan
Kuan-Mei Hsiung: Graduate School of Frontier Sciences, Atmosphere and Ocean Research Institute, University of Tokyo, Chiba 277-8564, Japan
Heng Zhang: East China Sea Fisheries Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Fishery Sciences, Shanghai 200090, China
Lai-Yin Chow: Institute of Fisheries Science, College of Life Science, National Taiwan University, Taipei 10617, Taiwan
Wann-Nian Tzeng: Institute of Fisheries Science, College of Life Science, National Taiwan University, Taipei 10617, Taiwan
Akira Shinoda: Department of Biology, Tokyo Medical University, Shinjuku, Tokyo 160-8402, Japan
Tatsuki Yoshinaga: School of Marine Biosciences, Kitasato University, Kanagawa 252-0373, Japan
Sung-Pyo Hur: Jeju International Marine Science Research & Logistics Center, Korea Institute of Ocean Science & Technology, Jeju 63349, Korea
Sun-Do Hwang: Korea Fisheries Resources Agency, Gunsan 54021, Korea
Yoshiyuki Iizuka: Institute of Earth Sciences, Academia Sinica, Taipei 11529, Taiwan
Shingo Kimura: Graduate School of Frontier Sciences, Atmosphere and Ocean Research Institute, University of Tokyo, Chiba 277-8564, Japan

Sustainability, 2019, vol. 11, issue 9, 1-18

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 Strait Warm Current, (3) The Taiwan Warm Current, (4) The Yellow Sea Warm 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.

Keywords: Anguilla japonica; leptocephalus; glass eel; Kuroshio; North Equatorial Current (NEC); otolith daily increments (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
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