(Japan) Is the eel industry on the slippery slope to extinction?
Dwindling domestic population threatens a centuries-old tradition
by Mark Jarnes
Special To The Japan Times
As we approach the end of July, supermarkets nationwide are beginning to stock up on one of the nations much-loved summer fish: freshwater eel.
In recent years, however, the cost of eel has risen sharply and consumers are now facing the upcoming Doyo no Ushi no Hi (Day of the Ox, a day dedicated to eel consumption) on July 30 in the knowledge that theyll be expected to pay through the nose for a slab of the freshwater fish.
Rampant overfishing and the scientific communitys overall lack of knowledge on the biology of eel has left the industry in a crisis. The dwindling domestic eel population has consequently pushed up prices and forced a number of specialist eel restaurants to close. So scarce is the fish in restaurants these days that its almost considered to be something of a luxury item.
I think that the soaring eel prices are truly unfortunate, says Torami Murakami, chairman of the All Japan Association for Sustainable Eel Aquaculture. If prices continue to stay at this level, an important part of Japanese food culture will remain out of consumers reach.
Murakami himself enjoys packing away what has become a delicacy, but realizes that increasing prices are making it more difficult for eel to remain on dining tables across the country.
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/life/2016/07/23/food/eel-industry-slippery-slope-extinction/