Eel fishery

The first commercial catches of eel were recorded in 1914 and until the 1950s the commercial Eel Fishery was based on supplying bait to the rock lobster and long-line shark fisheries. Export of frozen short-finned eels to Europe commenced in the early-mid 1960s.

Production in the Eel Fishery is strongly affected by seasonal factors and drought conditions have resulted in relatively low production for now more than a decade. Some eel production continues to be through stock enhancement, whereby elvers and small eels are stocked into selected lakes for extensive on-growing under natural conditions. In recent years, the commercial catch from stock enhanced waters has been limited by a lack of suitable habitat and/or the availability of elvers.

In August 2017, Jaala Pulford, Minister for Agriculture, declared the Victorian Eel Fishery Management Plan which sets the objectives, strategies and actions for the fishery for the next five years. Further information on the plan can be found at Victorian eel fishery management plan.

Key elements of the Eel Fishery

The species

The target species in Victoria's Eel Fishery are the short-finned eel (Anguilla australis) and long-finned eel (A. reinhardtii).

Both species spend the majority of their life cycle in fresh water or estuaries but travel to the ocean to spawn once before dying. Spawning is thought to occur in the vicinity of the Coral Sea, although no precise spawning location for either species has been identified. Eggs are thought to be pelagic and hatch after about two days. Larvae are transported southwards along the east coast of Australia where they metamorphose into glass eels and swim into coastal bays and estuaries.

Most short-finned glass eels migrate in the winter and spring, while long-finned glass eels migrate during summer and autumn.

The respective distributions of short-finned and long-finned eel are extensive and there is considerable overlap between the two. Short-finned eels are found from subtropical Queensland to western Victoria, Tasmania and New Zealand. Long-finned eels are distributed from far north Queensland to eastern Victoria and Tasmania. Specimens of the Australian long-finned eel have also been recorded in New Zealand.

The fishery

The fishery focuses on harvesting eel stocks in Victorian coastal river basins south of the Great Dividing Range. Short-finned eels are found throughout the State, but long-finned eels are only found in eastern Victoria. 

There are three types of eel fisheries permitted in Victoria: wild harvest, stock enhanced and intensive aquaculture (although no intensive aquaculture is currently taking place). 

The fishing method

Commercial fishers are only permitted to use fyke nets to take eels and the number, dimensions and mesh size of fyke nets is prescribed by regulation.

Restrictions on the use of fyke nets includes a mesh size of not less than 15mm and not greater than 39mm, and a maximum of three wings, each of 46m maximum length, 67cm maximum drop and meshes of no more than 32mm. Currently, each licence holder may use up to 50 fyke nets and nets must be cleared at least once every 48 hours.

A fyke net must not occupy more than half of the width of a watercourse and may not be within 5m of another net. Some licence holders are permitted to use oversize fyke nets specifically for targeting migrating sea run eels.

Management arrangements

The fishery is managed under the Victorian Eel Fishery Management Plan and is input managed, with limited entry, gear restrictions and water allocation as the main controls. The management plan was developed by The Victorian Fisheries Authority in collaboration with a stakeholder-based steering committee and finalised and declared in August 2017.

No legal minimum lengths or closed seasons are applied to eel fishing in Victoria.

Wild harvest fishery

The commercial fishery is managed solely by input controls. An Eel Fishery Access Licence (EFAL) is required to take eels for sale or to use commercial fishing equipment in Victorian waters. The maximum number of EFALs is capped at 18.

The key strategy to ensure sustainability in the eel fishery is to limit the number of waters where commercial fishing is allowed. A system of closed waterswhere commercial eel fishing is prohibited, allows for escapement of eels during their seaward spawning migration.

To further reduce fishing pressure, some key waterways are available for fishing under a single EFAL only. These are known as allocated waters. Larger waters may be allocated to more than one licence.

Stock enhanced fishery

Stock enhancement involves stocking selected lakes and impoundments in western Victoria with elvers and small eels for on-growing before recapture at marketable size. Historically, a significant component of commercial eel production in Victoria came from this practice, but prolonged drought conditions over the recent decade restricted production.

Translocation of eels for stock enhancement purposes is conducted under an approved protocol for the Eel Fishery in accordance with the Guidelines for Assessing Translocations of Live Aquatic Organisms in Victoria.

Only short-finned eels are translocated for stock enhancement and any stocking must be authorised under an Aquaculture (Crown Land – Eels) Licence. 

Intensive aquaculture

A small number of Aquaculture (Private Land – Eels) Licences have been issued over the history of the fishery for eel aquaculture in intensive recirculating systems, however none are presently active.