In order to meet the market demand for female eels, Japan uses new technology to denature eels
[Global Times reporter Li Yuzhen] Although eels are delicious, farming is a hassle.
According to a report from Kyodo News on the 27th, Japan’s Aichi Prefecture Aquatic Products Test Center recently released news that the test center has developed a technology that can turn male farmed eels into females, and is applying for a patent for this technology, causing controversy for a while.
The sex of the eel is not determined at birth, and the sex is not determined until the body length exceeds 30 cm.
More than 90% of cultured eels are male, and the body and skin of the fish tend to become hard, and usually weigh only 200 to 250 grams when shipped.
Compared with males, female eels are not only large in size, but also soft and tender.
However, due to the decrease in eel fishing and production in recent years, the market demand for female eels has become greater.
Under the subsidy of the state, the test site has researched a way to change the sex of eels, that is, mixing "soy isoflavones" with ingredients similar to estrogen in the bait, and adjusting the feeding method.
The results showed that after feeding eel fry in this way for a period of time, more than 90% of the male eels became female.
Although Japan’s "Medicines and Medical Devices Act" prohibits the administration of estrogen to food fish, it is said that there is no problem with adding soy isoflavones.