
Japanese production of summer favourite eels falling
Channel NewsAsia's Japan Bureau : 03 August 2004 1625 hrs
....Shizuoka Prefecture's Lake Hamana, a well-known eel producing area. Here, there is a mixture of fresh water and sea water from the Pacific Ocean, making it an ideal breeding ground for eels.
Until the mid-1980s, it had been Japan's number one producer of eels, churning out some 7,000 tonnes annually. Now, only about 1,000 tonnes a year are harvested.
Eel breeders say global warming has taken its toll, and too much sea water is seeping into the lake. So experiments are being conducted to save the eels.