Extracting a century of preserved molecular and population demographic data from archived otoliths in the endangered European eel (Anguilla anguilla L.)

► We evaluate various protocols to extract DNA from recent and archived eel otoliths. ► We compare DNA yield, microsatellite amplification success and genotype integrity. ► Age determination in combination with molecular analysis is shown to be reliable. ► Otolith collections hold great potential to study evolutionary changes in fish.