Tuna

Opening statement The scientific name for eel is Anguilliformes but the Maori prefer Tuna. There are fewer eels today because of the loss wetlands and historical commercial fishing practice.

Appearance Shortfin eels have wrinkles on it’s skin when you bend the shortfin eel and longfin eels have even larger wrinkles when you bend the longfin eel. Like all fish eels have scales and fins.The longfin eel is named because it’s top fin is bigger than the bottom fin.
Habitat Longfin eels are only found in New Zealand while shortfin eels are found New Zealand Eastern Australia and in some of the Pacific Island. Young eels swim up rivers will climb waterfalls and even dams by leaving the water and wriggling over damp areas and can climb up a waterfall up to 20 meters.

Diet Small Longfin eels will feed on insect larvae worms and water snails but when the longfin eels get bigger the start to feed on fish the longfin eels will also eat freshwater crayfish and even birds like ducklings. During the day eels are secretive by hiding under logs,boulders or under riverbanks. Eels hunt by smell rather than sight. Longfin eels have an well-developed smell. They have tube nostrils that protrude from the front of their head, above their upper lip.

Reproduction In autumn adult eels leave fresh water from New Zealand to the tropical seas somewhere in the south pacific. The females release the eggs and the males fertilise them then the adults die after spawning the eggs hatch into larvae that float up to the surface then towards New Zealand this may take a year and five months to arrive. After they get to New Zealand the larvae then turn into glass eels transparent juvenile eels. These enter estuaries and then turn darker, from which point they are known elvers. Elvers move upstream to find a suitable place to live, where the elvers grow into adults. Over a decade (or more) the adult eels head out to sea to spawn, and the cycle continues.

General statement Eels number are dropping every year and glass eels are getting trapped in whitebait nets. When a longfin lays its eggs there are over 1 Million of the eggs and only few survive to see the rivers. Stop putting out whitebait nets where the eels swim and help them instead.