The cost of producing a significant breakthrough in the cultivation of artificial eel seedlings has plummeted by 95%, now standing at approximately 1,800 yen per eel, marking a critical advancement towards the mass production of cultured seedlings.
TOKYO, JAPAN (WS News Publisher) – Japanese eel dishes are highly esteemed by gourmets both domestically and internationally, particularly as a staple summer ingredient in Japan. However, the nation’s domestic eel fishing has struggled to meet demand, compounded by a decrease in overseas imports, leading to a shortage in supply. The situation has been exacerbated by the weakening of the Japanese yen, pushing the unit price per kilogram to an unprecedented 5,371 yen in 2023.
In light of these challenges, a research institution affiliated with the Japan Fisheries Agency has announced a groundbreaking development: the cost of cultivating artificial eel seedlings has drastically reduced from approximately 40,000 yen to about 1,800 yen per eel. This achievement represents a substantial leap towards the viable mass production of cultured eel seedlings, offering a potential solution to the current supply crisis and soaring market prices.
Eel is a representative ingredient of Japan’s essential summer festivals. However, because eel fry depends entirely on natural resources, the amount of fishing affects the market price. Since 1990, the number of eels caught in Japan has dropped sharply, from 30 to 40 tons per year to 10 to 20 tons. In addition, originally, large quantities of eels were imported. Still, due to the reduction of resources and the promulgation of relevant regulations, the import volume decreased rapidly, causing the price of eels to rise sharply. In addition, the Japanese yen has continued to fall in recent years, causing the import price of eel to soar sharply.
The Japan Fisheries Agency has invested in a commercial mass production system demonstration project for eel fry since 2017 and has actively developed artificial cultivation and cultured fish fry technology to achieve mass production goals and a stable supply of cultured fish fry. The cost of raising artificial eel seedlings has dropped to about 1,800 yen per eel, an overall decrease of about 95% from about 40,127 yen in the early stage of the study (2016). Although the cost of artificial fry is still higher than that of natural fry (180 to 600 yen per fish), labor costs will continue to decrease, and the technology will be popularized among private enterprises, which is expected to achieve the goal of large-scale mass production.
The research carried out technological development from spawning, hatching, and breeding to breeding, which reduced the cost of artificial breeding by 95% from 40,127 yen at the beginning of the research (2016). At present, about 2 million fertilized eggs are successfully obtained every week, and the number of healthy hatching fry is increasing, and it is expected to supply hatching fry throughout the year. Newly developed optimized feeds provide better breeding results for survival and growth. Progress has also been made in the breeding space, with the number of fries produced per tank increasing from 250 (2016) to 1,000 (2023), quadrupling the number of fish produced in the same breeding space.
As per the legend, eels are a traditional food used to combat summer fatigue in Japan. However, with the rapid decline in eel resources, Japan is taking proactive steps. It is actively developing culture seedling cultivation technology and inviting other countries to join in establishing eel breeding management organizations. These efforts aim to manage, protect, and ensure the sustainable use of eel resources, reassuring eel lovers.
