World's First Fully Farm-Raised Eel Goes on Sale in Tokyo

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At an eel restaurant in Tokyo's Tsukiji district, customers began lining up early on May 29 for the first-ever in-store sale of kabayaki—grilled eel glazed with a sweet soy-based sauce— made with fully farm-raised eel. They had come for a taste of what was billed as a world first.

"I was able to get my hands on something historic," said the graduate student who was first in line. Online sales opened at 11 AM and sold out in just two minutes, with no date yet set for their resumption.

Fully farm-raised eel differs from conventional eel farming, which relies on catching wild juvenile eels at sea and raising them to maturity. In full-cycle aquaculture, eggs are collected from parent eels, raised into adults, and then used to produce the next generation.

*Customers line up from early morning to purchase fully farm-raised eel.*

The in-store sale was held by Yamada Suisan, a company based in Saiki, Oita Prefecture, which has been developing the technology with the Fisheries Agency and other partners. The sale took place at Yamada no Unagi Unabone Ramen's main branch in Tsukiji.

Ahead of the 11 AM launch, 23-year-old graduate student Shotaro Yamada of Chofu, Tokyo, was already at the front of the line shortly after 7 AM.

"I saw the news and knew I had to try it," he said with a smile. "I'm going to share it with two friends."

*Kabayaki (grilled eel) made from a fully farm-raised eel.*

Taste Test for a Sustainable Future

Only 45 eels were available for the first sale, each priced at ¥4,500 (about $29), including tax. That is more expensive than conventionally farmed eel, and bringing down production costs remains the main hurdle to wider adoption.

Naotake Kato, who oversees Yamada Suisan's eel farming operations, called the first sale "the first step toward putting the technology into practical use."

On taste, however, he was confident. The eel, he said, is "every bit as good as wild eel."

"It's delicious," Kato added. "Please come and try it."

The company plans to begin serving the eel at its Tsukiji restaurant in July as unaju and unadon—grilled eel over rice, served in a lacquered box or bowl. It also plans to sell kabayaki at the Nihombashi Mitsukoshi main branch in Tokyo later that month.