European and Japanese eel aquaculture relies entirely on wild-caught glass eels due to failed captive breeding — combining conservation and welfare concerns in a poorly regulated sector.
Eel welfare presents a dual crisis — conservation collapse from wild capture dependency and welfare harm from conditions of farming and slaughter. Eels are long-lived, complex fish with documented intelligence and stress responses. Current slaughter practices do not reliably achieve rapid unconsciousness. The aquaculture sector is entirely dependent on wild juvenile capture, meaning eel farming cannot be sustainable or welfare-positive in its current form.