Endangered delicacy：Japan eel on species red list 瀕危珍饈：日本鰻魚被列為瀕危物種

The Japanese eel, a popular summertime delicacy that has become prohibitively expensive due to overfishing, has been put on the international conservation "red list" in a move that may speed up Japan’s push for industrial farming of the species. Japan’s agriculture minister Yoshimasa Hayashi urged that efforts to boost the eel population be stepped up after the International Union for Conservation of Nature designated the Japanese eel as "endangered," or facing a very high risk of extinction.

熱門夏日美食日本鰻魚原本就因過度捕撈而貴得令人咋舌，現在又被列在國際保育的「紅色名單」上，此舉可能加速日本推動鰻魚養殖業發展。在國際自然保護聯盟（IUCN）把日本鰻魚列為「瀕危」或面臨絕種的高風險後，日本農林水產大臣林芳正已呼籲設法增加鰻魚數量。

The decision by the IUCN to put the Japanese eel on its red list could lead to global restrictions. Inclusion on the list can be the basis for trade restrictions under an international treaty on trade in endangered animals and plants.

IUCN決定把日本鰻魚列在紅色名單上，恐導致全球對鰻魚貿易設限。依照一項有關瀕危動植物交易的國際條約規定，被納入這份名單即可成為限制這些物種交易的基礎。

Japan consumes more than two-thirds of all eel eaten, thanks partly to a tradition of eating roasted eel as tonic for the heat during the hottest days of summer. The delicacy is as much a custom of the season as watching fireworks, listening to wind chimes and eating watermelon.

日本消費全球逾3分之2的鰻魚，部分原因是日本傳統認為，烤鰻魚是炎炎夏日的滋補聖品。吃這道美食是日本的夏季風俗之一，就跟看煙火、聽風鈴和吃西瓜一樣。

Japanese eel are usually raised to adulthood after being caught as elvers, or glass eels. Although there are limits on catching elvers and juvenile eels, demand has soared, putting heavy pressure on the species, as well as many other fish stocks and pushing prices for elvers as high as $36,000 a kilogram. In turn, prices for mature eels have soared, turning the traditional "kabayaki" roasted eel dish into a luxury rather than a common household dish.

日本鰻魚通常是在先捕獲鰻線或玻璃鰻後再養至成鰻。雖然當局對鰻線及幼鰻的捕撈數量設限，但對鰻魚的需求量日增，使鰻魚及許多其他魚類承受龐大壓力，導致鰻線的價格上漲至每公斤3萬6000美元。成鰻的價格也因而居高不下，讓傳統的「蒲燒鰻」從家常菜變成了奢侈料理。

新聞辭典

endangered：形容詞，指動植物數量稀少瀕臨絕種的、瀕危的，或形容非常罕見的，如She claims that honest politicians are an endangered species.（她聲稱誠實的政客是瀕危物種。）

prohibitively：副詞，指費用或價格過高地，如Property in the area tends to be prohibitively expensive.（當地的房價高到讓人買不下手。）

tonic：形容詞，指滋補的、使人精神振奮的，如A weekend in the mountains was always a tonic for him.（到山裡度週末總能讓他精神一振。）