1. An international turning point regarding eel

Eel is a food that symbolizes Japanese food culture. As exemplified by the custom of eating eel on the Day of the Ox in midsummer, eel has long held a special place on the Japanese dining table. However, a major international turning point is now emerging with regard to eel.

The focal point is international trade regulation under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). CITES is an international treaty aimed at managing international trade in wild fauna and flora in a manner that ensures the survival of species. At the Conference of the Parties (CoP20), held in Uzbekistan from November 24 to December 5, 2025, a proposal was deliberated to list the genus Anguilla (Anguilla spp.) in CITES Appendix II and to implement permit requirements in international trade. Although listing in Appendix II does not prohibit trade, it requires range states to demonstrate sustainability. Consequently, listing could significantly affect market and distribution structures. However, the proposal at CoP20 was ultimately rejected. Discussions surrounding the regulation of international trade in eel will continue going forward.

It is important to note that rejection of the proposal does not eliminate the need to examine the effects of regulation and its implications on the market. On the contrary, when considering the difficulty of building international consensus, it is increasingly important to examine in advance how markets and consumers would respond if regulations were to be introduced.

2. The misconception of environmental protection versus food culture

Discussions surrounding eel regulation are often framed as a binary opposition; that is, prioritizing environmental protection will cause food culture to be lost. However, this framing is not necessarily appropriate.

What is truly being asked is not whether to eat eel or protect eel, but rather the societal choice of how to protect eel while continuing to eat it. Regulation is not an end in itself but a means. It is merely a framework for redesigning resource management and market structures. In this respect, consumers play an important role. The products chosen by consumers in the market greatly influence the effectiveness of regulation and the nature of its impact.

3. Do consumers value sustainable eel?

Together with my research team, and drawing on the insights of researchers specializing in eel studies, I am conducting empirical research which analyzes Japanese consumers' preferences for eel products and their willingness to pay (WTP). WTP is an indicator that expresses, in monetary terms, how much more consumers are willing to pay for a given product or attribute. Using a discrete choice experiment (DCE), I estimated consumers' preferences and willingness to pay by varying product attributes such as origin (domestic vs. imported), antibiotic-free certification, sustainability certification, and price. A DCE is an analytical method that reveals preferences and WTP for individual attributes by presenting choices among products composed of various attribute combinations and observing hypothetical decision-making as consumers select among options.

My research clarified that Japanese consumers are willing to pay additional amounts for eel bearing "sustainability certification" or "antibiotic-free certification." Specifically, I confirmed a premium WTP of approximately 262 yen for sustainability certification and approximately 280 yen for antibiotic-free certification.

This shows that sustainability and resource management are not merely abstract ideals, but values that are actually evaluated in the marketplace.

4. Consumers are not homogeneous; diverse segments exist

Further analysis reveals that consumers are not homogeneous; rather, they consist of multiple segments. Consumer preferences are diverse, including groups that emphasize price, groups with a strong preference for domestically produced products, and groups that value health and the environment.

In particular, groups that value health and the environment have a high evaluation of sustainability certification and a certain level of understanding of the intent of international regulation. At the same time, there is also a certain number of consumers who emphasize low prices, and not all consumers behave in the same way.

Analyses that assume such heterogeneity suggest that the effects of regulation may not be evenly distributed across all consumers. Instead, those effects may be biased toward specific groups.

5. How to connect regulation, certification, and consumers?

It is important to note that regulation under CITES does not necessarily function solely as a burden or constraint on consumers. When combined with appropriate certification systems and information provision, it is possible to advance resource management while gaining consumer understanding and support.

As shown by the research of a team led by Professor Kenzo Kaifu, current international trade in eel faces many challenges in terms of ascertaining resource conditions and establishing management systems. Although CITES is positioned as the final safety net, regulations alone cannot resolve the challenges.

The key issue is how to connect international regulation (CITES), transparency in production and distribution, and consumer choice.

6. Basis for a decision to pass on eel food culture to future generations

The social significance of our research does not lie in supporting or opposing the adoption of a specific policy. Rather, it is valuable for visualizing in advance the impact that might arise for markets and consumers if international trade regulations were to be introduced. The fact that the CoP20 proposal was rejected demonstrates the difficulty of forming international consensus on resource management, while at the same time highlighting the importance of accumulating information necessary for policy decisions.

The issue of eel regulation is a typical case in which environmental policy, markets, and consumer behavior intersect. At that intersection, applied microeconomics can play a role not in judging the appropriateness of policies, but in providing the materials necessary for informed decision-making. Whether eel can be preserved as a food culture in the future depends on such objective analysis and on the accumulation of choices made by each and every consumer.

Chuan Yang／Associate Professor, Faculty of Global Management, Chuo University
Area of Specialization: Industrial Organization

Chuan Yang was born in China. She holds a Ph.D. in economics. She completed the Doctoral Program in the Graduate School of Economics, Chuo University in 2005 and obtained a Ph.D. She has worked in the Faculty of Global Management, Chuo University since 2019. She currently serves as an Associate Professor in the same faculty.

In the fields of applied microeconomics and industrial organization, she conducts analyses focusing on market structure and the mechanisms of consumer behavior through diverse methods, including analyses using theoretical models. In addition, she has conducted theoretical and empirical analyses in related research on the effects of institutions and regulations on market structure and consumer behavior.

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