The Short Finned Eel is common in our waterways. They’re long, slippery fish that live in our creeks and rivers and they hunt yabbies, insects, worms and fish. When they’re ready to breed, they swim all the way down any river they live in, and breed in the Pacific Ocean! The babies then make their way back and live in our rivers again. It’s up to us to keep our rivers and creeks free of litter to make sure our Eels survive. These guys live in the Mitta Mitta, Snowy, Tambo, Yarra and many other Victorian rivers. We also see long-finned eels...
Biology and Habitat This species lives in a variety of habitats including rivers, lakes and swamps, generally with low or no flow. It migrates to sea to spawn, with the spawning location being the Coral Sea near New Caledonia. The larval eels are washed down the east Australian coast by sea currents. The larvae then metamorphose and attain the typical eel shape before entering fresh water in spring–summer and migrating upstream to the upper reaches of rivers. Adults occupy a well-defined home range of about 400 m. Females dominate the catch in freshwater environments and males are more abundant in downstream, estuarine areas. Males are sexually mature at 14 years and females at 18–24 years. Adults may remain in fresh waters for 20 years or more before migrating to the sea to breed and then die. A voracious nocturnal predator, the Shortfinned eel eats a variety of fish, crustaceans, molluscs and insects.
