the most expensive fish in Japan.
In January 2018, a kilogram of these baby
eels cost around $35,000. That's more than bluefin tuna,
and almost as much as the price of gold at
the time. But catching these eels is just the beginning.
It can take a year of work until they're
large enough to be sold.
So what makes these eels so popular?
And why are they so expensive? People in
Japan have eaten eel for thousands of years. Restaurants like this can sell 40
to 50 tons
of eel each year.
Japanese eel, or Anguilla japonica, can be
found across East Asia, but overfishing
and changing habitats
have caused a huge decline in eel
populations. Since 1980, the global catch of eel
has declined by more than 75%,
which has had a huge effect on price.
Narrator: Unlike other types of fishing,
the majority of eels are raised, not caught
as adults.
Young eels, called glass eels, are caught in
the wild
and raised on farms like this. No farms have
been able to efficiently
breed the eels in captivity. So farmers
depend on the catch of young eels
to make a profit.
Narrator: Raising this many eels requires
constant attention.
Michio has been working as an eel farmer
for almost 40 years.
Narrator: After the cost of the eels
themselves, feeding them is the most expensive part.
Two to three times a day, workers feed eels
this.
It's a mixture of fish meal, wheat,
soybean meal, and fish oil.
Narrator: After six to 12 months of work, eels are big enough to be sold.
Workers unload the eels and sort them by size
to determine where they'll be sold.
Experienced workers can quickly tell the
difference
just by feel. Some of these eels will end up
at restaurants
like Surugaya, which has been serving eel
for over 150 years. That high demand is part
of the reason
young eels are so expensive.
The final dish is called kabayaki. It may
look simple,
but preparing it takes years to master.
Narrator: Workers prepare eel alive to
maintain freshness, but this makes handling much more difficult.
Workers remove the bones and cut eels
to the proper size for the skewers.
Narrator: Eel has to be constantly monitored while
it's cooking to achieve even grilling.
Narrator: Chefs steam, then grill each eel
three times,
dipping it into sauce between each grilling.
Narrator: Kabayaki presented in a lacquer box
rice is called unajū.
It can cost up to $91 depending on the price
of adult eel.
If prices are too high,
restaurants struggle to make a profit.
Narrator: In Japan, eels are eaten
year-round, but consumption peaks in the summer,
and it's become a big part of some local
economies. But the high demand has caused concern.
In 2014, Japanese eels were classified as
endangered,
and because of low domestic catch, the
majority of eels eaten in Japan
are imported from China and Taiwan.
Narrator: There have been efforts to improve the
eel population, like regulating fishing,
releasing adult eels back into the water, and
researching how to hatch eels in farms.
But the future of Japanese eels remains
unclear,
and the price is likely to increase with
demand
