by Lovely A. Carillo
Eels from Davao Oriental are set to conquer the world market, following the success of the Pangasius, or the Dory Fish.
Eels are infamous for their snake-like persona, resulting to a low demand in the United States seafood market. However, eels are highly in demand in European and Asian markets.
“A Taiwanese buyer has been referred to us by our Manila office and he wants to source eel from Davao Oriental on a weekly basis starting this October,” Department of Trade and Industry provincial director Belenda Q.. Ambi said.
The coastal areas of Mati, Manay, Caraga, Baganga and Cateel are eel-rich areas, so these will be the main sources of eels from Davao Oriental. However, Ambi said the fisher folks have to be trained in the proper way of catching eels as per requirement of the international market.
At this time, she said, the eels in Davao Oriental are being sold in the domestic market where fishermen sell them in the market already dead, and sometimes already sliced.
“What the buyer wants is for the eels to reach Taiwan still alive; this can only be made possible with the proper handling of the fish from the time it is caught up to the time of shipment, considering that it will take four days before the imported eels reach Taiwan,” she said.
Ambi added that while they welcome the Taiwanese market, they have also requested the buyer to help them conduct trainings on eel culture so that the economic opportunity for the Davao Oriental fisher folks will be sustainable. This will also ensure that we avoid the depletion of our eel resources, she added.
She said eels are already in demand in the domestic market for being tasty. However, she said, there is a greater demand in the Taiwanese market because of the eels’ medicinal properties. Eels are not only very healthy but they also have healing powers.
Eel and its medicinal and aphrodisiac properties
Eels are exotic food and is highly in demand in Europe and Asia for relieving fatigue. The skin of the eel or what they call kadaagel is used as a brace for relieving sprains due to its tightening ability. Eels are also considered aphrodisiacs in some Asian countries.
An eel culture has existed in Korea as far back as 25 years ago. Koreans grew eels primarily for the purpose of producing seed fish or fingerlings which were then exported to Japan and Taiwan, specifically the Japanese eel or Anguilla japonica.
International demand
However, the demand for edible eels has significantly increased not only in Taiwan but also in Korea. Eels are in demand in those countries not merely for fingerlings or for the eel culture but also for market consumption. Korea produced an estimated 5,000 tons of eels in 2005. However, this has proven too meager considering the increasing demand for eels in Japan, Taiwan, Korea and China.
Culturing eels in Korea is however facing a hitch due to the adverse climatic conditions as well as the limited availability of areas for fish culture.
Japanese cuisine usually includes freshwater eels or unagi and marine eels or anago. It is also very popular in the Chinese cuisine, with the price of eels reaching 1000 Yen up to 5000 Yen per kilogram in Hong Kong. More than 40% of the 230,000 metric tons of the world’s eel production is produced for the Kabayaki market of Japan. This refers to the style of serving eels, where they are butterflied, skewered and basted and then grilled or steamed.
It is also often seen in the Korean cuisine as it is believed to be a source of stamina for Korean men. It is also highly in demand in Europe, particularly in East London, The Basque, New Zealand, The Netherlands, Italy and even in Sweden which considers smoked eel a delicacy.
The 3 to 6-foot eels found in a stream is one of the attractions of a bridge in the Pacific Island of Huahine which is part of French Polynesia.
There are different types of eels but their blood is generally toxic. This toxicity is however is lost when the eels are cooked.
Global production
The production of eels in the global market has increased over the years, with most of them concentrated in the Far East. A total of 23,100 metric tons of eels are produced in Japan, 34,000 metric tons in Taiwan, 2,600 metric tons in Korea and 155,800 metric tons in China annually.
While the total consumption of eels in the Japanese market reaches 99,770 tons per year, BFAR records in 2001 show that the Japanese only produce 327,210 tons of eels.
The United States Trade Internet System shows that the largest importer of eels is South Korea, which purchased $3.4 million worth of eels in 2008. This is followed by Belgium with $2.2 million and Hong Kong with $1.4 million worth of eels imported during the same period.
Ambi said there is also a Korean buyer interested in sourcing eels from Davao Oriental, but this would only be for the domestic market consumption. She said there is a great demand for eels in Korean restaurants in Manila and the Korean buyer will consumer it for the local market.
Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources data show that the eels’ market value depends on the species and it presently has a price range of between $3 and $15 per kilogram. Eels are being sold in the Philippines for up to P500 per kilogram. The country has an estimated production of 200 metric tons of eels, usually through backyard operations.
“The Taiwanese buyer is presently sourcing eels from Quezon Province but they have asked the head office for more sources since they want to expand,” Ambi said. The buyer will provide the shipment for the eels, she added, but with very specific instructions that they will only buy eels weighing 600 grams each.
Ambi said the University of the Philippines Los Baños already has an existing technology in the eel culture and they can utilize that when they start to conduct trainings for Davao Oriental fisher folks.
According to BFAR, farmers have noticed a reduction in the snail population in their rice fields when they introduced eels, since these are natural feed for eels. However, there are farmers who have experienced difficulty in water retention in their rice fields due to dike boring by eels.
The eel industry is still in its infancy compared to the other fish species. However, eels can be easily cultured compared to Pangasius considering that they are already abundant in these areas and the fisher folks do not even need to buy fingerlings to produce them.
Once developed, the eel industry can also give rise to other economic opportunities like the production of high quality feeds for eels, since fish fee processors are already here in the country.
