Adored and endangered: The complex world of the Japanese eel
Consumed worldwide, eel is particularly popular in Japan, where remains found in tombs show it has been eaten on the archipelago for thousands of years.
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Consumed worldwide, eel is particularly popular in Japan, where remains found in tombs show it has been eaten on the archipelago for thousands of years.
The European eel now appears on the International Union for Conservation of Nature's critically endangered list, with its Japanese and American cousins just one category behind.
Prices of the beloved Japanese delicacy have surged due to overfishing, pollution and changes to ocean currents
Eels were once so abundant that they were considered a pest, but today the ancient creature is threatened by human activity and risks disappearing altogether, scientists and environmentalists warn.
TOKYO: Eels were once so abundant that they were considered a pest, but today the ancient creature is threatened by human activity and risks disappearing altogether, scientists and environmentalists warn. Eels appear in human mythology and ancient art, and their bones have been found in tombs dating back thousands of years. Just thirty years ago, they were so common that in