European and Japanese eels experience significant welfare harms throughout their farming cycle, from capture as glass eels through intensive growing conditions.
Eel welfare sits at an intersection of conservation crisis and intensive production welfare concerns. European eels are critically endangered yet their glass eel stage is harvested at scale for aquaculture. Intensive eel farming involves dense populations in tanks where skin abrasion, oxygen stress, and competition injuries are common. The species natural life history includes long-distance migration — a behavioral drive completely suppressed in farming conditions. Welfare and conservation imperatives align in calling for reduced eel consumption and better farming standards.