The body of the adult short-finned eel is long and snakelike, roughly tubular and the head is small, with the jaws reaching back to below the eye or further.

Unable to scale the Great Dividing Range, and not extending as far west as the outlet of the Murray River, they are excluded from the thousands of kilometres of waterways that drain inland eastern Australia.

[5] A. australis is the most widely distributed longitudinally of the Anguillid eels, where its larvae can be found just south of Fiji to the north-west of Australia in the Southern Equatorial Current region (14.5–21°S, 154–179.5°E).

[4] They are carnivorous, and ferocious predators, eating crustaceans, fish, frogs, birds,[6] snakes, and Australian native water rats (rakali).

From there, they migrate upstream, traversing numerous obstacles — if necessary, leaving the water and travelling short distances over moist ground.

[citation needed] At some point, the eels start changing their shape again, to prepare for a trip back into the ocean for spawning.

A 2021 study by the Arthur Rylah Institute tracked short-finned eels that travelled 2,620 km (1,630 mi) from western Victoria up the east coast to the Coral Sea.

The consumption of short-finned eels is a longstanding tradition in many Pacific nations, including Japan, Australia and New Zealand.

[2] The main reason that the aquaculture of Anguillid eels has become more popular in recent times is that the wild seed supply cannot support the demand of the consumer.

[8] The increasing pressure on eels has led to reduced recruitment of juveniles of anguilid species which limits the industry and potentially leads to ecological impacts.

[citation needed] Extensive systems of aquaculture to farm the short-finned eel were developed by the Gunditjmara people of western Victoria, Australia, dating to at least 7,000 years ago in the wetlands created by the Tyrendarra lava flow of the Budj Bim volcano.

Aquaculture is the single fastest growing animal food producing sector in the world, having an annual growth rate of 6.9%.

[15] However the main way that full growth of oocytes is achieved is by repeated injections of salmon pituitary extracts,[15] and also additions of other hormones.

The important factors for developing and growing this industry are having viable and reliable seed sources, as well as understanding the basic biology of the animal.

NIWA (National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research) has begun developing culture and husbandry techniques in freshwater, and will also be investigating trials in saltwater.

New Zealand is in a unique position where the shortfin eel stock, despite heavy exploitation, show little evidence of decline nationally.

[2] New Zealand is therefore in a position to enhance global production of shortfin eels and relieve pressure on other stocks around the world in countries such as China, Japan, Korea and Taiwan where aquaculture potential has been limited.