昔はいろいろなところにいたが河川の埋め立てや水質悪化などの環境の変化、また乱獲により激減した。
それでもまったくいなくなった訳ではなく、いるところではたまに見かけるがナマズのように釣りのターゲットにできるほど多くはない。
絶滅が危惧されてるニホンウナギだが、日本の年配は昔のしきたりにならい土用の丑の日にウナギを蒲焼きで食べたがる。
日本では環境保護の意識が欧米よりも低く、年配層はしきたりから中々脱却できない。
ウナギを絶滅させないためにナマズの蒲焼きを食べようという試みが行われているが上手くいっていない。
They used to be found in many places, but their numbers have decreased dramatically due to environmental changes such as reclamation of rivers and deterioration of water quality, as well as overfishing.
Even so, they have not disappeared entirely, and although they are occasionally seen in places where they exist, there are not so many that they can be used as a fishing target like catfish.
The Japanese eel is in danger of extinction, but the elderly in Japan prefer to eat broiled eels on Doyou-no-Ushi (the day of the ox), following an old tradition.
In Japan, environmental awareness is lower than in the West, and the older generation is unable to break away from the tradition.
There have been attempts to eat broiled catfish to keep eels from becoming extinct, but they have not been successful.
