Fig 1. Major bathymetric features of the study area of the western North Pacific Ocean.

Model results for regions marked by white dashed lines and associated numbers are presented in Fig 6. Results along sections marked by magenta lines are presented in Table 2. Solid white curves with arrows indicate major ocean currents. Abbreviations: North Equatorial Current (NEC); Subtropical Countercurrent (STCC); Mindanao Current (M.C.). The red spot marks the spawning ground. Purple contours along coastlines denote the arrival positions of eels after Tsukamoto [11].