Practical Feeding—Eels

Abstract

Eels are generally classified as warmwater fish. Three species of Anguilla genus are important commercially: the Japanese eel A. japonica, European eel A. anguilla, and American eel A. rostrata. Culture of eels for food is most highly developed in eastern Asia, especially in Japan. Eels have been cultured in Japan since the late 1800s, and production in 1983 was about 35,000 tons. Taiwan started eel culture in about 1968 and the industry has developed rapidly, with production of approximately 30,000 tons in 1985, most of which was exported to Japan. Demand for young eels (elvers) usually exceeds the supply. The supply of elvers depends on catches along the coasts of Japan, Taiwan, Korea, and China, and due to the large fluctuation in elver catches, the price varies greatly.