NZ has the most long lived eels

Longfin eels often live to 60 years old with the oldest living recorded being 106.

The longfin eel (tuna in ​te reo ​Māori) is also one of the largest in the world weighing up to 40kg. However nowadays very few large longfin eels are seen anywhere.

Despite being listed as at risk of extinction and desperate calls (from​ iwi and environmental groups) to stop fishing, the species is still commercially caught.

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You know if you have a longfin eel if the distance between the ventral and dorsal fins is larger than the length of its pectoral fin.

Longfin eels are more sensitive to pollution than short fin eels. Effluent and fertilizer runoff from farms and industry can remove large quantities of oxygen from the water so the eels have to move away or they will drown.

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