State of Aquaculture Management for Optimal Rearing of Eel Anguilla japonica

This study was conducted to investigate the production, elver stocking, rearing facilities and rearing method of eel culture to determine aquaculture management conditions for optimal rearing of eel Anguilla japonica. The production of eel culture was evaluated by the proportion of eels from the main inland fin fish species production in Korea. Elver stocking was assessed by the elver stocking densities of pond and recirculation culture. Rearing facilities were investigated according to the rearing tank size proportion of the pond and recirculation culture. We selected sample farms by region and by size. We visited sample farms and recorded the number of elvers stock for pond area, size of tanks, feed and feed quantity, and the size and number of harvest eels. The production capacity of Jeollanam-do and Jeollabuk-do were 71.9% and 21.3% respectively. This production quantity represented 93.2% of the total Korean eel production quantity. In Jeollanam-do, there are 236 eel farms, 202 pond farms, and 34 recirculation aquaculture facilities. The elvers' first density data by each aquaculture method revealed that elvers' first density varied more in recirculation system farms, as compared to pond aquaculture. In intensive pond farms, the elvers' first density decreased as the size of farm increased. There was a correlation between the size of tank(x) and the facility of a water wheel for dissolved oxygen in pond culture systems(y=0.022x-0.494; $R^2$ =0.860). Another strong correlation was found between the weight of eel(x) and eel density(y) in pond culture systems(y=283.5x-0.27; $R^2$ =0.992). Finally, there was a strong correlation between the length of eel(x) and the weight of eel(y) in intensive pond culture(y=0.0005x-3.2783; $R^2$ =0.9775). The final survival rate did not differ significantly among pond sizes and culture types.