Stock Assessment of Atlantic Coast American Eel

The status of American eel (Anguilla rostrata) on the Atlantic Coast of the United States was assessed using trend analyses and depletion-based stock reduction analysis. Thirty-three fishery-independent surveys conducted over at least the last 10 years were standardized to generate relative abundance indices and grouped into six geographic regions: Gulf of Maine, Southern New England, Hudson River, Delaware Bay & Mid-Atlantic Coastal Bays, Chesapeake Bay, and South Atlantic. The Mann-Kendall test for temporal trends applied to all surveys showed most indices from Delaware Bay & Mid-Atlantic Coastal Bays increased in recent years, whereas all other regions exhibited declining trends. ARIMA modeling performed on surveys conducted ≥20 years showed increasing trends in Chesapeake Bay and decreasing trends in the Hudson River. Depletion-based stock reduction analysis estimated a median biomass trend using historical landings from 1880 to 2010. Biomass declined from a peak of approximately 18,000 metric tons in 1880, rose to a subsequent lower peak of approximately 5,400 metric tons in 1974, and then declined steadily through to the present. Results will be used to further develop the existing interstate eel management plan and to inform the upcoming finding on the petition to list American eel under the Endangered Species Act.