Ｎews

Why are European eel endangered?

Inadditiontodelicious,Europeaneelhasalsoplaguedbiologistsformorethanacentury.Theyspendtheiradultlifeinestuariesandstreams,andalso,breedandtraveltotheSargassoSeaneartheBermudaIslands.Subsequently,thetinytransparentjuvenilesreturnedtoEuropeontheGulfStream.However,theeelpopulationhasbeenmysteriouslyreduced,promptingpeopletotakeextrememeasurestorestoretheirnumbers.　　Now,researchersunderstandthedangersthatyoungeelfacesontheroad:hungryfish.Ithasbeenthoughtthattheseeelinfantaredifficulttofindandcaptureformostpredators.However,arecentstudyexploringthetracesofDNAinthegutoffishneartheeelbreedingwatersuggeststhatatleastsixmarinespeciescanquicklyeatyoungeel.　　Europeaneelusedtobeverycommon,butitsnumberhasfallensharplyoverthepast45years.Moreimportantly,thenumberofjuvenilesthateventuallyreachedEuropeby“glasseel”wasreducedby90%,causingsometowonderwhattheymighthaveexperienced.Aresomecreatureseatingthemup?　　Thisseemsunlikely.Youngeelsize,aswellasasmallwillowleaf,wasdetectedonlyonceintheintestinesofotherfishattheendofthe19thcentury.Itmayalsobethatonceswallowed,theydisappearsoquicklythattheyleavenotrace.MadsReinholdtJensen,co-authorofthepaperandnowagraduatestudentatAarhusUniversityinDenmark,saidthatinfact,thiseelishardtofind,“eveninabasinofwater”.Researcherslookingforadeclineintheeelpopulationanalyzedallthepossibilities,exceptwhowaseatingyoungeel.　　JensenandcolleaguesattheUniversityofCopenhagendidnotanalyzetheyoungeelitself,butinsteadstudiedtheDNAof62eelthattheDanishteamcollectedin2014andquicklyfrozen.TheteamwantedtofindadulteelthatspawnedintheSargassoSea,butfoundnothing.TheJensenteamdevelopedspecificmoleculartagsforeel.Theselabelscan“catch”anyeelDNAinthegutoffish.Intheend,theresearcherscheckedtheDNAofEuropeaneelinsixdifferentfishspecies.TheyreportedthisfindinginthejournalMarineBiology,whichwaspublishedafewdaysago.　　ForthemarineecologistTraceySuttonofNovaSoutheasternUniversityinFlorida,USA,thelatestfindingswereshocking.“Thisiscontrarytothebeliefthatthesefishmainlyfeedoncrustaceans.“Thelatestresearchshowsanewapproachtothefoodchainthatwedidn’tknowbefore,”heexplained.”

2020-07-28

Ｎews

Rethinking the "Devil's June" phenomenon in the eel industry

TheDevil'sJune”isajargonthathasbeencirculatedintheJapaneseindustry.ItmeansthattherewillalwaysbeaseriesofuncleareventsinJunebeforetheeelfestival,whichwillhaveastrongimpactontheeelmarket,especiallytheimportedeel.AroundJune,theindustryisalwaysworried,worriedthatthedisasterwillcome,letusreviewthehistory:　　2006——InMay,Chinaexported1,350tonsofliveeeltoJapan,andsold5,794tonsofroastedeel.OnMay29th,Japanimplementedthe"positivelistsystem".InJune,China'seelwasdetected7violations.InJuly,17casesweredetected.AfterAugust,China'seelexportstoJapanandpricesdroppedsignificantly.　　InJUNE2007,theUSFDAannouncedthatitwouldtemporarilydeductfivekindsofaquaticproductssuchasprawns,balsafish,eelandscorpionfishproducedinChinauntiltheimportercanprovethattheseproductsaresafe.TheJapanesemediatooktheopportunitytohype,introducingconsumersintomisunderstandings,andeelwasthefirsttobearthebrunt.Thepublicopinionof“Chinaeel=dangerousfood”waswidelycirculated,resultingina2/3dropinthenumberofimportedChineseroastedeelsin2008.Thepriceisonly40%ofthesamesizeandthesamequalityJapanesegrilledeel.　　InJune2008,someconsumersgraduallyrealizedthatChineseroasteelwerecheapandgood,andsalesofChineseroasteelinJapanesesupermarketsandmassmerchandiserswereheatingup.Atthiscriticaljuncture,theMinistryofAgriculture,ForestryandFisheriesannouncedtheincidentofcounterfeitsquidintheproducingarea.Themediascreamedhypethroughoutthedaytopromotethedetectionofantibioticsfromcounterfeitroasteel.Sincethen,theMinistryofHealthandWelfarehasannouncedthedetectionofmalachitegreenfromimportedliveeel.The“AsahiShimbun”claimedthattheChineseroastingeelplantpurchasedrawmaterialsfromblackfarms.LeadingconsumerstostayawayfromChineseeelagain.　　IsChinesefoodadangerousfood?WhatisthedifferencebetweenChineseeelandJapaneseeel?“Thefactsspeaklouderthanwords”,letthefactsspeak.　　IsChinesefoodadangerousfood?AccordingtotheresultsofcustomsclearanceinspectionofimportedfoodsannouncedbytheMinistryofHealth,LaborandWelfareofJapan:1.859millionimportedfoodsinJapanin2006,inspectionof199,000batches,inviolationof;1530batchesofanti-FoodSanitationLaw,accountingfor0.1%,ofwhichimportsofChinesefoodThepassrateis99.4%,whilethepassrateforimportedUSfoodis99%,whichmeansthatUSfoodisnosaferthanChinesefood.　　TheUnitedStatesannouncedtheresultsoftheFDA'sinspectionofimportedfoodfromJuly2006toJune2007.ThenumberofviolationswasthehighestinIndia,secondinMexico,andthirdinChina.However,accordingtotheproportionofviolationsoftotalimports,thefirstisDominica,thesecondisIndia,thethirdisDenmark,thefourthisJapan,andChinaisthesixth.ThefactsshowthatJapanesefoodisnobetterthanChinesefoodsafety..　　Chinastrictlycontrolsthesafetyofeel!ChinahassetextremelystrictinspectionstandardsforexporteelwithreferencetoJapan's"positivelistsystem".Forexample,thestandardformalachitegreenresidueis2ppb,AOZis1ppb,metronidazoleisonly0.1ppb,andthemosttoxicpoison—Thelethaldoseofpotassiumcyanideis40ppb.　　ppbistheunitofstandardvalue,thatis,onebillionthofabillionth,whatistheconceptofonebillionthofa10,000tonsofeel,aslongasitcontains1gofmetronidazole,itisunqualified,inJapantheeelproductionoutputisabout20,000tons,andifitcontainsabout2gramsofmetronidazole,itisallunqualified.JapaneseexportYoshikawaMitsuruSanbelievesthataccordingtotheAOZresiduestandardstipulatedbytheJapanesepositivelistsystem,eating1kilogramofroastedeeleverdayfor30consecutiveyearswillnotharmhealth.　　China'sfarmraisedeelhasundergone6-7inspectionsfromthebreedingtoexporting;fromSeptember2007toAugustthisyear,morethan10,000tonsofroastedeelsexportedtoJapanhaveallpassedtheextremelystrictorderinspectionsinJapanandpassedtheapproval.Japanesefarmraisedeelonlyneedtobecheckedonceayear.MatsunobuSan,ThevicepresidentofJapan’s“nationalunitedfarmraisedeelbreedingsociety”saidthatthequalityofChineseeelandJapaneseeelisthesame.　　CanJapaneseeelbeself-sufficient?Japanconsumes70,000-120,000tonsofeeleveryyear.Duetonaturalconditions,thecountrycanonlyproduceabout20,000tons.In2007,Japanconsumed102,996tonsofeel,ofwhich22,643tonsweremadeinJapan,accountingforonly22%;and63,85tonsofChineseeelwereimported,62%saytotalamount;Taiwan16469tons,accountingfor16%.　　In2001,Japanimported62,957tonsofChineseroastedeel,whichfellto40,299tonsin2003and33,412tonsin2007.FromJanuarytoJuly2008,therewereonly11,435tons,equivalenttoabout1/3ofthe30,379tonsinthesameperiodof2007.In2009,EuropeaneelwereinvolvedintheprotectionoftheWashingtonConvention,andthenumberofroastedeelsexportedbyChinawillbefurtherreduced.　　Ifthereisnoimportedeel,theconsumptionofeelinJapanwilldropby4/5,thepricewillskyrocket,anditwillbecomeahigh-endfoodthatordinarypeoplecan'tafford.Theeelwillgraduallyleavethetableofthegeneralpublic,andtheeelculturewillbedifficulttosustain!　　Japan'sfoodwasteisstaggering!Atthesametimethatdevelopingcountriesarestarvedtodeathduetolackoffood,Japan,whosefoodself-sufficiencyrateisonly39%,hasattractedtheattentionoftheworldbecauseofthewasteoffood.AccordingtothesurveybytheMinistryofAgricultureandWaterResourcesandtheMinistryoftheEnvironment,about40%ofhouseholdwasteisfoodwaste,ofwhichabout6

2019-02-12