East Asia's baby eel catch falls from 60 tons to 1

Industry fears 'the start of complete resource depletion'

20180213_VitaminEel

Many Japanese eat vitamin-rich eel to bolster their stamina in the strength-sapping humidity of the country's summers, especially on one day in particular, determined by the ancient solar calendar and believed to be the hottest of the year.

TAKUMI SASAKI, Nikkei staff writer

TOKYO -- Prices for young eels are surging to an unprecedented level in Japan due to extremely poor catches, promising to push the summertime delicacy further into the luxury realm and out of the reach of many Japanese.

Industry officials are even warning that a crisis is at hand, with eel stocks on the verge of running out.

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