Ecological Risk Screening Summary - Electric Eel (Electrophorus electricus) - Uncertain Risk

Species that are considered uncertain risk need a more in-depth assessment beyond the Risk Summary to better define the species’ risk to U.S. environments.

The electric eel (Electrophorus electricus) is native to the Amazon and Orinoco River basins of Brazil, Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Venezuela, Guyana, Suriname and French Guinea in South America. E. electricus is used in research and public aquariums, and fished commercially for human consumption. Numerous states have prohibited or restricted importation of Electrophorus electricus. It has not been reported outside of its native range and therefore no information is available on impacts of introduction. The climate match with the contiguous United States was low overall, but there were local, mostly coastal, areas with medium and high match. The highest match was in southern Florida. Due to lack of introduction history, the certainty of assessment is low, and overall risk for this species is uncertain.