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Stocking Eels

A man holds a white plastic tray, one quarter of which is filled with elvers. He is standing with his feet in the water on the shore of a lake. He tips the tray in order to release the juvenile eels into the lake.

Biologist Guy Verreault releasing elvers into the water
Date: summer 2016
Photo: Johanne Fournier, Le Soleil

The American eel does not reproduce in captivity. Therefore, elvers must be taken from one location to be stocked in another.

In summer 2016, elvers were taken from the Mitis River and transported about 50 km further east to Lac à l’Anguille, near Rimouski. The goal was to help restock the lake with eels and to increase its biodiversity. This was in turn intended to reduce the presence of cyanobacteria by causing populations of various types of small fish to decline.