Artificial induction of sexual maturation in the European eel males (Anguilla anguilla L.) (Preliminary results)

Abstract

The aim of our present study was to induce sexual maturation and sperm release by hormone treatment in European eel males. Fish were kept in fresh water (temperature of 24±1°C) without feeding. Motile sperm was obtained from the 5th hCG injection. The volume of sperms stripped on the 7th week ranged between 0.1-1.9 cm3. Cell counts in Btirker chambers resulted 1 to 7 million spermia per mm3. The motility of sperms varied between 10 to 70%. This motility is lower than what can be found in other publications, however our results suggest that a simultaneous egg stripping and sperm release may contribute to solve the artificial propagation of European eel.