Status of the American Eel in the Ouachita River Basin, Arkansas

            The American eel Anguilla rostrata has declined in several Atlantic Coast drainages, and the United States Fish and Wildlife Service was petitioned on during 2005 and 2010 to list the species as threatened.  The status of the species is poorly understood within the Mississippi River basin.  The purpose of this study was to determine the status of the American eel in the Ouachita River basin of Arkansas.  We used boat electrofishing to collect a total of 51 eels during 27 sample events from 2010 to 2012.  Catch per unit effort ranged from 0 to 13 fish per hour, and 34 eels were collected from two samples.  Catch rates appear to be negatively related to discharge. Total length of eels collected ranged from 270 to 763 mm with modes at 350 and 525 mm.  The size distribution of eels appeared to vary by sample location.  Adults of the exotic nematode parasite Anguillicola crassus were not found in the swim bladders of 14 eels. American eels appeared to exhibit a clumped distribution, and were locally abundant only within high-quality habitat patches.  Eel life-history characteristics for this basin will be compared to streams along the Atlantic Coast.