Conduct passive monitoring of larval recruitment of American Eel through tidal passes

Project Description

Conduct passive monitoring of larval recruitment of American Eel through tidal passes. Utilize experimental depth integrated larval drift nets deployed at key tidal passes along the upper Texas coast to detect recruitment of American Eel during nocturnal incoming tide events.

Conservation Area

Southeast Texas Rivers Native Fish Conservation Area

NFCA Objectives

Project Hierarchy: High (i.e., timely and urgent, needs to occur within the next 1-3 years)
Estimated Cost Range: $50,000-$100,000
Project Submitted By: Jenny Oakley, Environmental Institute of Houston, University of Houston-Clear Lake
Suggested Contact: Jenny Oakley, George Guillen, Stephen Curtis

After extensive field effort to collect glass and elver eels was unsuccessful using fyke nets, and expanded efforts to utilize a passive gear (eel ramps) is underway, this is the last piece of the puzzle and attempt to document American Eel recruitment into TX rivers and streams.

University of Houston-Clear Lake

USFWS, Coastal/Inland SWG

Project Status

  • Suggested
  • Ongoing
  • Completed

Project Location

Project would focus on large tidal passes in the Sabine and Galveston Bay systems