Japanese eel

The Japanese eel (Anguilla japonica) is a freshwater eel native to East Asia, known for its elongated body and amber-brown color. It spends most of its life in rivers and lakes but migrates thousands of miles to the western Pacific Ocean to spawn in deep waters. After hatching, the transparent eel larvae drift with ocean currents back to Asia, where they develop into glass eels and mature into yellow eels before becoming adult silver eels. Highly valued in cuisine, especially for eel dishes like unagi, Japanese eels are currently threatened by habitat loss and overfishing.