An update of the length–weight and length–age relationships of the European eel (Anguilla anguilla, Linnaeus 1758) in the Comacchio Lagoon, northeast Adriatic Sea, Italy

An update of length–weight and length–age relationships for yellow, silver and mixed population of European eels (Anguilla anguilla L.) of the Comacchio Lagoon, Italy, is provided in this study using data obtained in 2011. This historically important eel stock has undergone 99% feminization, probably due to the significant density reduction over the past three decades. The results show that these conditions did not affect the length–weight relationships, which approximate those of the late 1970s, but they do affect the length–age relationships, leading to faster maturation rates. These conditions lead to younger, longer and heavier silver eels before their migration to the Sargasso Sea.