《TAIPEI TIMES》Taiwan Railway, Fisheries Agency unveil eel meals

A boxed lunch featuring Taiwanese eel and tilapia is pictured yesterday during a news conference in Taipei. Photo: Yang Yuan-ting, Taipei Times

By Yang Yuan-ting and Jonathan Chin / Staff reporter, with staff writer

Taiwan Railway Corp and the Fisheries Agency yesterday unveiled a limited edition of 14,000 unagi boxed meals for travelers, to promote Taiwanese eels.

Railway and fisheries officials said that the promotional event, which runs through Aug. 23, was spurred by the abundant catch last year of eel fry of about 6 tonnes.

The bumper total catch led to a concerted push to market the product, with products including the boxed lunches, as well as an earlier deal with MOS Burger to sell unagi rice burgers, they said.

The boxed meals contain kabayaki-style unagi and fried tilapia on rice with vegetable side dishes, the officials said.

Chiayi County, Taiwan’s premier eel-producing region, would supply the eels, while the tilapia would also be sourced in Taiwan, they said.

Taiwan Railway chairman James Jeng （鄭光遠） said the company’s dining service ordered 924kg of eel and has plans to make the boxed lunches a regular on the menu of trains dedicated to tourism.

Minister of Agriculture Chen Junne-jih （陳駿季） said eel is a delux seafood, but requires elaborate preparation, with the result that most eels are sold to restaurants.

The collaboration with Taiwan Railway, which sells up to 10 million boxed meals a year, is a significant economic opportunity, Chen said.

Eel is rich in omega-3 oils, vitamin A and protein, with Taiwanese eels containing more protein than the same serving of chicken breast, Chiayi County Commissioner Weng Chang-liang （翁章梁） said.

Fisheries Agency Director-General Wang Mao-chen （王茂城） said that eels only spawn in the wild, which limits the quantity and predictability of year-on-year yields.

The total eel fry catch can be less than 1 tonne on a bad year, but the past two years have been very kind on the industry, Wang said.

Historically, Taiwan sells about 40 percent of its eels domestically, and exports about 60 percent, primarily to Japan, but the trend reversed following the COVID-19 pandemic, he said.

Now, Taiwan consumes the bulk of its own eel fry catch, making development of the domestic market a high priority, he said.

Part of the reason for the change in the market is the rise in Japanese eel production and a decline in consumer demand, Wang said.

Taiwanese eels once accounted for up to 20 percent of the Japanese market, a figure that has fallen to about 1 percent, he said.

The Fisheries Agency is taking steps to save the best eel fry batches for the domestic market by enhancing cooperation between the government and seafood vendors, he said.

The unagi-tilapia boxed meals are available at 16 Taiwan Railway stations, including Songshan, Nangang and Taipei Main in the capital; Keelung’s main and Qidu stations; Shulin and Banciao in New Taipei City; as well as Hsinchu, Taichung and Changhua stations, the officials said, adding the special-edition boxed meals are priced at NT$199.

新聞來源：TAIPEI TIMES