Sustainable Governance of Japanese Eel Industry in Taiwan Under Glass Eel Supply Uncertainty

Taiwan’s Japanese eel (Anguilla japonica) aquaculture industry has historically developed as an export-oriented sector supplying the Japanese market but has undergone structural changes under declining glass eel availability. This study integrates long-term fisheries statistics, aquaculture production data, international trade records, and policy documents to examine the sustainability challenges facing Taiwan’s eel industry during 2004–2023. Descriptive statistics, Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) regression, trade analysis, and policy analysis were employed to examine the interactions among glass eel supply, aquaculture production, export development, and regional governance. The results reveal three major findings. First, declining glass eel availability has become a significant constraint on aquaculture production, and OLS regression confirms a significant positive relationship between glass eel supply and subsequent cultured eel production. Second, despite declining production and exports of market-size eels, Taiwan’s eel industry has undergone structural adjustment, characterized by increasing domestic market importance and the expansion of juvenile eel exports. Third, although regional governance has focused on stocking quotas, actual stocking volumes in Taiwan remain far below permitted levels, indicating that limited resource availability, rather than regulatory restrictions, has become the principal constraint, while discrepancies among catch, stocking, and trade statistics highlight limitations in current monitoring systems. Overall, as international attention to the conservation and sustainable management of Japanese eel resources continues to grow, effective governance will increasingly depend on cooperation among the major producing and trading economies in East Asia. Improving transparency in cross-border resource flows, strengthening information exchange, and enhancing regional collaboration will be essential for the long-term sustainability of the Japanese eel industry.