On average, sports fishermen catch around 200 wolf eels per year. Sportsmen also enjoy hunting the fish because of its large size and fearsome appearance. Even though there is no wolf eel industry, fishermen target the fish for its delicate white flesh. Wolf Eels are popular targets among hunters Non-commercial fishermen frequently hunt wolf eels, both legally and illegally.And trawler nets sweeping through reefs destroy coral habitats. The crab and octopus industries have depleted wolf eel habitats of the eel’s primary food sources. These fish can grow to be 80 inches long (203. Thus, it is common for wolf eels to become trapped in crab traps while hunting. The Wolf Eel is a member of the family Anarhichadidae together with the wolffishes of the genus Anarhichas. Wolf eels feed on crustaceans, such as crabs. Commercial fishing deprives wolf eels of food and habitats Even though there is no commercial industry for fishing wolf eels, they are still hurt by the commercial crabbing industry.In contrast to that, Gymnothorax tile is rather grey than brown and its cheeks, which may be white, too, are not demarcated sharply from the body color.Wolf eels are not considered an endangered species. However, their population has likely been declining for several years. Commercial fisheries do not target wolf eels, but human activity has been hurting the wolf eel population for decades. The head has a typical white, sharply demarcated spot at the corner of the mouth where the upper and lower jaw meet. The entire body is uniform brown or greenish. Size range: The Wolf Eel has been found to grow up to an average of 2 meters (8 feet) in length. They swim by making deep S-shapes with their bodies, like a snake moving across the ground. It is distributed in Indonesia and the Philippines. Wolf-eels live in shallow water as deep as 740 feet (225 m). The young ones of a burnt orange hue and the adults are brown or green or grey. It is among the smallest moray eels and only reaches about 35 cm following literature. A Wolf Eel can grow up to 8 feet in length and weighs up to 88 pounds. The third species of freshwater moray eel more or less regular in trade is Echidna rhodochilus. The maximum length found in literature is about 90 cm, though they do not seem to become larger than 50 cm following other studies. Gymnothorax polyuranodon can occur up to 30 km away from the coast. Its distribution is similar to its sister species but is extended to New Guinea, Australia, Palau, and the Fiji Islands. In contrast to Gymnothorax tile, it has a white to yellow background color with brown spots. The other possible variation has a red stripe at the lower jaw and is traded as ‘red stripe’.Ī species often confused with the Indian mud moray is Gymnothorax polyuranodon. The variation ‘albino gold’ has a very bright, whitish background color, possibly a pantheistic form. They may also represent different species. Rarely sold are two possible variations of Gymnothorax tile. The species reaches a maximum length of 60 cm (24 inches). They are common in the Sundarbans mangrove swamps in East India, but they are also distributed in Indonesia, the Philippines and the Andaman Islands. With age the yellow spots become smaller giving the adults a more or less uniform grey appearance. It is grey and has numerous yellow to golden spots spread on the dorsal and lateral part of the body. Sometimes it is labeled ‘Indian mud moray’, ‘snowflake eel’ (not to be confused with the other ‘snowflake eel’ Echidna nebulosa) or ‘gold dust moray’. The by far most common moray eel sold as a freshwater fish is Gymnothorax tile, it is often simply referred to as ‘freshwater moray eel’.
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