Fully farmed Japanese eels

In Okinoerabu Island, Kagoshima Prefecture, efforts are being made to develop artificial seedling production of Japanese eels. Seedlings refer to juvenile fish used in aquaculture. Eel farming uses glass eels as seedlings, but the glass eels used as seedlings are only naturally caught in estuarine areas, and artificially produced glass eels are not used.

Due to the decline in population, the Japanese eel was designated as an endangered species (category IB, species at high risk of extinction in the near future) on the IUCN Red List in 2014. Because of this rarity, glass eels are also called "white diamonds," and issues such as poaching have arisen. If mass production through seedling production is realized, it will enable the commercialization of complete aquaculture of Japanese eels, contributing to market stabilization, prevention of overfishing of natural resources, and the preservation of Japan's food culture and marine resources. Additionally, it is believed that it can contribute to the local economy as a new industry in Okinoerabu Island.