The distribution of European eel Anguilla anguilla (Linnaeus, 1758) in the Dniester Basin / Поширення європейського вугра Anguilla anguilla (Linnaeus, 1758) у басейні Дністра

Abstract

There is little information on the distribution of European eel Anguilla anguilla (Linnaeus, 1758) in the basin of the Dniester. It is due to the fact that this species could rarely be found in the Black Sea and in small numbers. Nevertheless, some cases of eel registration have been described not only for the Dniester estuary, but also for the Middle and Upper parts of the Dniester current. In particular, in the mid-19th century Kessler described the presence of eel in the Middle Dniester not far from Yampil town. However, in the 20s of the last century Slastenenko noted information about eel presence in some narrations, though he did not identify eel in his own catches. Balabay informs in his review of the Upper Dniester fish fauna that eel was not found there but old fishermen mentioned about it presence. Previously, eel was noticed in the Upper Dniester tributaries, including the Vereshchytsia and the Limnytsya. The eel stocking of the Dniester basin began in the second half of the 19th century and the last stocking was carried out in 1954, it was followed by eel settling in the left-bank tributaries.
Gradual elimination of eel from the fish fauna of the Upper and Middle Dniester envisaged after the construction of Dubossary (1954) and Dniester HPP (1981) dams. However, one specimen of this species was caught near the village of Hordivtsi, Chernivtsi Region (48 ° 30'36.0 "N 26 ° 20'31.8" E) in the winter of 1989 (oral report). Another eel specimen with the total body length (TL) 788 mm and weighing 885 grams was found near the village of Bilivtsi, Ternopil Region (48 ° 30'55.0 "N; 26 ° 21'56.0" E) in August 2011. The next oral report of the discovery of eel in the Dniester Reservoir dates back to the early May of 2015 (village Dnistrivka, Chernivtsi Region - 48 ° 34'34.1 "N 26 ° 55'57.2" E). This specimen had total length of about 40 cm. Modern reports on the presence of eel in the composition of fish fauna of the Lower Dniester are also available.
Considering that Dubossary and Dniester HPP dams are not equipped with fish ladders, the question of eel spreading into the Dniester Reservoir remains open.