
A yellow and black spotted eel in Tsu, Mie Prefecture, on Saturday.
12:47 JST, August 30, 2022
TSU — A 7-year-old boy fished out from an irrigation ditch an unusual yellow and black spotted eel that was later confirmed by experts to have a mutation that causes a congenital lack of pigment, in Tsu, Mie Prefecture.
Yoshihito Ueyama, a first-year elementary school student in the city, caught the odd-colored eel on Friday using a mullet fingerling as bait at an irrigation ditch where he usually enjoys catching crayfish and loaches.
Ueyama saw the eel the prior day but failed to catch it, so he set trap consisting of a wooden stick, an attached thread and a baited hook.
When he tried to land the eel after it chomped on the bait, the thread broke under the eel’s pull. But he saw that the eel was still hanging on to the hook at the end of the broken thread, and pulling on the thread, he managed to net the eel.
According to Takeya Moritaki, 52, a curator at Toba Aquarium in Toba, Mie Prefecture, the unusual eel is believed to be a common Japanese eel with a color mutation. Such eels are found from time to time and are called “banana eels” because of their appearance.
Ueyama said he was so happy that he wrote about the eel in his picture diary for summer vacation.
“I was thrilled to catch a rare eel I’d never seen before,” he said.
The eel was subsequently given to Mie Prefecture’s Ise Sea Paradise aquarium in Ise, at which it went on display on Monday.
"Society" POPULAR ARTICLE
-
Earthquake Hits with Epicenter in Central Tokyo; No Tsunami Warning
-
Princess Aiko Delivers First Address During Official Duty; Daughter of Emperor and Empress Speaks at Opening of International Medical Conference
-
Suspicious Plastic Bottle Containing Black Liquid Found on Tokaido Shinkansen Train; Police Working to Identify Contents
-
Man Arrested on Suspicion of Drunk Driving after Rear-ending Bus in Yokosuka
-
2025 Expo Osaka: Visitor Surge Expected in Latter Half as Increased Ticket Sales Not Leading to More Attendance Yet
JN ACCESS RANKING
-
Core Inflation in Japan’s Capital Sharply Accelerates in April
-
U.S. Holds Fire Over Yen Exchange Rate Targets; Bessent Said to Understand Negative Impact on Markets
-
Japanese Govt Mulls Raising Number of Cars to be Imported Under Simplified Screen System in U.S. Tariff Negotiations
-
Japan Must Take Lead in Maintaining Free Trade System, Says Chairman of Japan Trade Group
-
Rents Mark 30-Year-High Rate of Rise; Decrease in Disposable Income May Dampen Personal Consumption