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Short-finned Eels - Their Migration and LifeRay Madden
After spawning off Vanuatu and Noumea, the larvae (hatchlings) follow the east-Australian current down the east coast and into Bass Strait (blue arrows on map). As they approach the coast of Victoria the eels larvae turn into glass eels ('glassies'). The glass eels enter the various rivers (the examples shown below are the Hopkins River, Merri River and Darlot's Creek) and as they head upstream they turn into elvers ('bootlaces') and swim on, negotiating weirs, rapids and waterfalls on their way yo the lakes and still headwaters. In the lakes they settle down and mature into the fully-grown short-finned eels. They can live in the lakes for up to twenty-five years. At full maturity the eels turn a silvery colour, head downstream, out to sea and make the long swim back to the spawning grounds in the Pacific where they reproduce and then die (red arrows).
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KutjungkaGunditjmaraAndy Alberts |
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