Japan To Launch 1st Sales Of Fully Farmed Eels Amid Declining Wild Stock

TOKYO, May 20 (Bernama-Kyodo) -- Japan’s fisheries agency said Tuesday it will launch the world’s first sales to the public of eels hatched and fully raised on farms, at a time of global concern about depleted eel populations in the wild, Kyodo News reported.

An online store run by major retailer Aeon Group will carry the product on a trial basis from May 29, charging around 5,000 yen (US$31) apiece.

Most eels consumed in Japan are caught at sea early in their life cycle and raised at fish farms. But as the sustainability of wild stocks faces increasing pressure, efforts are underway to commercialise the production of eels using eggs taken from farmed eels.

Fish feed and personnel costs weighed heavily on the venture, but improvements through technological advances have helped reduce production costs drastically.

From a farming cost of roughly 40,000 yen per eel during fiscal 2016, the figure has dropped to about 1,800 yen today, according to the Japan Fisheries Research and Education Agency.

The goal is now to reduce it to around 800 yen, as the current cost is still three to four times higher than farming naturally caught eels.

Amid concerns about the sustainability of eel populations, the government plans to shift the production method so that by 2050, all eels in distribution will be artificially hatched from eggs and raised at fish farms.

-- BERNAMA-KYODO