DTU’s marine research vessel Dana has been investigating an area of sea several times the size of Denmark.
In early May, the marine research vessel Dana returned from a voyage of more than two months led by Peter Munk, Senior Researcher at DTU Aqua. The purpose of the voyage was firstly to investigate the eel spawning areas in the southern and eastern parts of the Sargasso Sea, and then to trace the route taken by the eel larvae back to Denmark.
The measurements collected have revealed, for example, that the sea temperature in the spawning area is 1–3 degrees higher than previously recorded in the same place. A good deal of analysis work must now be done before the final conclusions can be drawn about the decline in the eel population.
“The number of eel larvae has plummeted over the past 30 years, and the question is whether changes have occurred in the larvae’s chances of survival in the Sargasso Sea or on their way to Europe that have contributed to the decline. These are the issues that the Danish Eel Expedition 2014 has sought to elucidate,” relates expedition leader Peter Munk, Senior Researcher at DTU Aqua.
Welcome abroad Dana during ESOF
DTU’s marine research vessel is open to visitors at ESOF on Amaliekaj in Copenhagen, from 10 a,m. until 18 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday, 21–22 June, and from 10 a.m. until 8 p.m. on Monday, 23 June.