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Updated: Feb 4, 2026

Handling and Treatment of Male European Eels Anguilla anguilla for Hormonal Maturation and Sperm Cryopreservation
Published on: January 28, 2018
Sperm quality in wild-caught and farmed males of the European eel (Anguilla anguilla)
L Locatello1, D Bertotto2, R Cerri3
1Department of Biology, University of Padova, via U. Bassi 58/b, 35121 Padova, Italy.
Abstract:
Sperm density and performance of wild and farmed male European eels were evaluated to investigate the effect of maintenance in captivity on ejaculate quality. Hormonal stimulation (with human chorionic gonadotropin) lasted for 17 weeks. Different origins of the male European eels partially influenced the quality of the ejaculates. Indeed, wild animals (i.e., collected at a natural site) had greater sperm longevity during the hormonal stimulation, whereas there was no significant effect of the origin on sperm density, spermatocrit, the percentage of motile sperm, and plasma testosterone concentrations. The different origins of the males also affected fatty acid sperm content, with greater unsaturated fatty acid and omega-6 concentrations in wild eels and lesser concentrations of saturated fatty acids and omega-3 fatty acids in farmed eels. Regarding sperm quality of European eels, this is the first study that takes into account the effect of different origins of stimulated males (wild-caught compared with farmed) on sperm quality, and these findings may help to improve the production of high-quality gametes in this endangered species.
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