European and Japanese eel aquaculture raises welfare concerns at every production stage, from glass eel capture through intensive rearing to slaughter.
Eel aquaculture presents a compound welfare problem: the species is critically endangered, making capture of wild juveniles a conservation harm; intensive rearing conditions cause chronic welfare deficits through crowding and behavioral suppression; and slaughter methods commonly used cause prolonged suffering. The welfare case for eel aquaculture reform is strong, but the conservation case for reducing eel consumption entirely may be stronger. Where eel is consumed, choosing producers that use electrical stunning and lower stocking densities, and verifying that no wild eel capture contributed to the product, represents the most welfare-positive approach.