Prices of juvenile eels have surged to their highest levels amid extremely poor catches so far this year, likely leading to an unprecedented third straight year of bad hauls and prompting the government to eye meeting local authorities and experts soon for countermeasures, Kyodo News learned Monday.
Japan relies on wild glass eels caught at headwaters of rivers to produce farm-raised eels to meet its ravenous appetite for ''unagi,'' because the complete cycle of artificial breeding from eggs has not yet been put into practical use. But the glass eel catch has plunged by over 95 percent since its peak in 1963. (Mainichi)
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