The eel catch in the new fishing season is lower, and the price of eel will continue to rise.

The 2024 eel fry fishing season in East Asia ended in disappointment. Despite the best efforts of national and regional fishermen, the overall catch of eel fry is still not satisfactory, down nearly 30% from the same period last year, and the final total catch is less than 35 tons, which is the lowest in recent years.

According to statistics, due to the influence of El Nino phenomenon, as early as the beginning of the fishing season, experts and scholars predicted that this year's eel fry fishing will face severe challenges. The actual situation is consistent with the forecast. The fishing situation in Japan, South Korea and other places is also poor, and the overall catch remains low. Although the Chinese mainland once ushered in the peak of fishing in the mid-to-late season, extreme weather and adverse tidal changes caused a sharp decline in fishing, and failed to change the overall downturn in fishing.

The three East Asian countries of China, Japan and South Korea caught a total of 34,850 kilograms of eel larvae this season, according to statistics from the Japan Farming News.

Among them, the Chinese mainland captured 25,500 kg, accounting for 73.2% of the total; Japan caught 6,650 kg, or 19.1% of the total; South Korea caught 1,400 kg, or 4.0 per cent of the total.

As the Japanese summer eel festival approaches, new eels are driving up eel prices. Recently, the first shipment of new eels in Aichi Prefecture was ushered in this season, with a total of 3 tons of new eels out of the pool, and eel prices were subsequently raised. Currently, local prices for new eels are 4,300 yen for 3p, 5,300 yen for 4p, 5,500 yen for 5p, and slightly lower for old eels.

At the same time, the price of live eels in China continues to strengthen. After price increases ranging from 150 yen to 350 yen, the price of live eel exported from China to Japan last week was 2.5p: 3,500 yen, 3p : 3,950 yen, 4p : 4,650 yen and 5p: 5,200 yen, an increase of 850 yen from the same period last year. Although prices have temporarily stabilized this week, industry experts predict that live eel prices in China are likely to rise again with the arrival of the peak season for eel consumption in Japan.

Last week, the Japanese market imported China's living eel about 130 tons.Overall, despite the poor performance of the eels in 2024, the price of eels is expected to continue to rise as demand for eels is strong as the consumer season comes.