The biological and economic yield from a long‐term eel‐stocking experiment

– Two almost eel-free lakes (339 and 299 ha respectively) in southeastern Sweden were stocked with French elvers in the autumn of 1980. The introduced eel stocks were monitored from the time of stocking and onwards using outlet traps equipped with fine-meshed screens and subsequently by test-fishing with long-lines and fyke-nets. Up to and including the spring run of 1994, more than 5,900 eels or about 2,600 kg were recaptured from one of the lakes, mostly as migrating silver eels. This means a recapture rate of about 11%. In the other lake most recaptures came from fyke-netting of the yellow eel stock. In this lake only 1.7% have been recaptured up to this point. These differences in yield and recapture rates from the two lakes are discussed in the context of lake productivity, growth rates, sex ratios, sizes of stocked elvers and size at silvering. In cconomic terms, the results from the higher-yielding lake indicate an excellent rate of profit. After approximately 10 years, the investment (cost of the introduced elvers) was paid back at a lending interest rate of 10%.