鰻魚苗價格回復正常: 鰻魚價錢可望下跌

Last month the Yomiuri News on-line reported the following:

ウナギ稚魚「やっと正常」…豊漁で値下がり期待

　不漁続きだったウナギの稚魚（シラスウナギ）が今年は豊漁だ。

　春までの漁期を残し、主要な産地では、すでに昨年の漁獲量を大幅に上回っている。昨年は１キロ・グラム当たり２４８万円まで高騰した取引価格が、５０万～６０万円に値下がりしている。早ければ半年で成魚になるといい、今夏以降には、店頭でのウナギの値下がりも期待できそうだ。

　国内有数の漁獲量を誇る高知県では、昨年１２月下旬の解禁から２月１５日までの漁獲量が２４８キロ・グラムとなり、過去最低だった昨季（２３キロ・グラム）の１０倍を超えた。好漁の要因について、県の担当者は「黒潮の流れが変わり、海流に乗って来たのではないか」と推測するが、真相は不明だ。

　鹿児島県でも、２月１５日時点で漁獲量が５０１キロ・グラムに上り、昨季全体の１４９キロ・グラムを大幅に上回る。台湾など海外でも比較的、今年の稚魚漁は好調とみられる。台湾産や中国産の稚魚が集まる香港からの昨年１２月の輸入量は約５・５トンで、前年同期（約０・６トン）の９倍に達した。

　国内で流通するウナギはほぼ養殖物。多くの養殖業者は、専門の卸業者などから仕入れたウナギの稚魚を、半年から１年半ぐらい育てて出荷する。稚魚が安くなれば、それだけ、安く出荷できる。

　水産庁が業界団体に聞き取ったところ、昨季に養殖池に入れられた稚魚は約１２・６トンだったが、今季は２月上旬の時点で既に約１１・７トンに達しており、昨季を上回るのは確実だ。養殖ウナギの出荷量が全国一の鹿児島県で、ウナギを養殖する男性（６９）は「昨季が度を越した高値だったので、やっと正常になったという印象」と話す。

（2014年3月1日18時30分  読売新聞）

(試譯文)

The fry (glass eel) of the eel which all along had a poor catch had a bumper fish crop this year.

In the remaining spring fishing season, it had already far exceeded the fish catch of last year in major production locations. The market price which once had soared to 2,480,000 yen per kg last year fell by 500,000 to 600,000 yen. If early, it could be said that they would become adult fish in six months and a price fall in eels at the shop front starting from this summer could be expected too.

In Kochi Prefecture which was proud of being taking the lead in fish catch in the country, its fish catch from late December last year, when the ban was lifted, to February 15th was 248 kg, exceeding 10 times that of last season (23 kg) which was the lowest ever. The truth was not known although the prefecture’s people in charge surmised on factors for a good fishery as "may be the flow of the Japan Current had changed; has not it ridden on an ocean current?”

Even in Kagoshima Prefecture, the fish catch went up to 501 kg as of February 15, and this by far exceeded the 149 kg of the whole last season. It was concluded that in overseas such as in Taiwan, the fry fishery this year was also good comparatively. For Hong Kong, where fry flock produced in Taiwan and China gathered, the volume of import last December was about 5.5 tons, being 9 times the corresponding period of a year before (about 0.6 tons).

The eel circulating in the country was a cultivated product mostly. Many aquaculture companies bred the fry of the eel brought from special wholesalers etc., and ranging from six months to about one year and a half, shipped them out. If the fry became cheap, it could be shipped out at a low price.

The Fisheries Agency had listened to the voice of the economic organizations; the fry that was put into the aquaculture pond last season was about 12.6 tons. It was certain that it had already reached about 11.7 tons by early February, exceeding last season. A man (69) who cultivated eels in the Kagoshima Prefecture, which was the No.1 in the country in the shipment of cultivated eels, said that "the impression was that at last it had become normal, last season it reached an excessive high price".

(18:30 on March 1, 2014    Yomiuri Shimbun)

I like eating eels. To a consumer, it is good news if the price is going down to a reasonable level.