Patent obtained for mass production of fully farmed eels

In 2010, Japan became the first country in the world to successfully hatch and raise Japanese eels (nihon unagi) through complete aquaculture. The Fisheries Research and Education Agency, under the jurisdiction of the Fisheries Agency, has now revealed that it has acquired patents for the technologies necessary to mass-produce these farmed eels.

The agency stated: "We aim to make eel farming accessible to everyone."

There are two key technologies involved:

1. Large-Scale Fish Tanks: Developed in collaboration with companies like Yanmar Holdings, this technology allows for the rearing of more than 10 times the number of eel fry compared to previous methods. Additionally, the cost of manufacturing these tanks is 75% lower than traditional methods.
2. Affordable Fish Feed: In the past, rare shark eggs were used to feed the eels, but with the new patented feed, the eels can be raised using inexpensive and readily available ingredients such as chicken eggs and milk proteins. This allows for large-scale production at a much lower cost.