Japan's eel-eating day singed by high prices, sending consumers in search of alternatives
Japan marked its annual eel-eating day on Saturday, but prices for the endangered fish remain high and supermarkets are giving growing attention to alternatives. The domestic catch of juvenile eels for cultivation fell this season to 3.7 tons, the lowest level since 2003, when comparable ...
Expensive and unsustainable, 'unagi' remains as popular as ever
Unagi (eel) may be one of Japan's most beloved dishes, but despite its much-touted health benefits, rising prices and shrinking numbers of juvenile eels may threaten consumption levels of this Japanese dish.
July 25 marked a traditional eel-eating "Doyo no Ushi no Hi," or the Day of the Ox.
Tuesday was eel-eating day, when many in Japan treat themselves to the grilled delicacy —this year likely to make a smaller dent on the wallet with prices down. Eel, typically prepared with sweet soy sauce and grilled, is enjoyed on set days following an old ...
Ryo: Grilled eel perfectly paired with sake and relaxed style
Specialist unagi restaurants generally fall into two categories. Most follow tradition, evoking the old days when grilled freshwater eel was a humble food of the masses. Others adopt a more sophisticated, formal approach for their eel cuisine. But Ryo boasts a style very much ...
Iwasaki: Family run, Michelin starred, and no food photos allowed
It was a coincidence that on the same day we had a reservation for Iwasaki, a small family-run restaurant west of Kyoto's Municipal Office, the Iwasaki's were quietly marking a milestone: the restaurant's 10-year anniversary. Iwasaki has retained a Michelin star every year since 2012, ...
Amid charges of sexism, city in Kyushu pulls video promoting local eels
A promotional YouTube video made by the city of Shibushi, Kagoshima Prefecture, featuring a young woman in a swimsuit who morphs into an eel has been pulled following a public outcry that it was sexist. "We apologize for upsetting viewers with our release of 'Unaco,' ...
Endangered eels from Hong Kong are being exported to Japan in bid to circumvent regulations
Japan imports vast quantities of juvenile Japanese eels from Hong Kong despite international efforts to control trade in the endangered species, with conservation groups calling for tighter regulations. Japan imported 4,364 kilograms of young Japanese eels from Hong Kong in January and February, and 1,657 ...
Eel researcher writes children's book about a species facing extinction
A 35-year-old researcher who fears the Japanese eel may soon be extinct has produced a picture book to get children to see them not just as food but as a threatened species. "Unagi no U-chan — Daiboken" ("The Adventure of a Japanese Eel called U-chan") ...
China to run out of exports of endangered European eel by early next year
China will stop exporting the internationally protected European eel to Japan by the end of next January, industry sources said Monday. The Chinese government's office for wildlife protection has notified Japanese industry officials that the stock for re-exported, French-origin eels protected by an international treaty ...
Eel farmers face state regulation to manage new extinction risk
The government plans to impose regulations on eel farmers because the Japanese variety was internationally designated as a species at risk of extinction last month, government sources said. Since eel farming in Japan relies mostly on catches of wild young eel, which are on the ...
Fishermen and restaurateurs fear for their livelihoods now that eel are on the red list of endangered species.
