The Japanese love to eat eel throughout summer, as they believe it gives them energy to beat the harsh heat and humidity.
But this season, many can expect to pay record-high prices for the delicacy.
Poor catches and soaring fuel prices are raising the cost of bringing both domestic and imported eel to markets and restaurants.
Statistics by the internal affairs ministry show that 100 grams of domestically sourced grilled eel retailed for nearly 1,500 yen, or about 9 dollars, in central Tokyo last month.
That’s the highest for the month of June since 2007, when comparable data became available.
Farmers in Japan often raise juvenile eels in ponds for six months to about a year. The fisheries ministry says the trading prices of the young fish have remained high due to poor catches. One kilogram fetched nearly 16,000 dollars on average during the seven months from November to May.
This has suppressed the volume of farmed eels for the third year in a row. Contributing to the high prices are soaring fuel costs and feed.
Japan’s weak yen is a major factor for imported fish. Wholesalers say they are paying roughly 10 percent more for eels from China and other places.