A survey conducted by a research institute in Osaka Prefecture found that Japanese eels, which are designated as an endangered species, inhabit the Dotonbori River in Minami, Osaka.
This is the first time an academic survey has confirmed that eels live in the Dotonbori River.
In November last year, the Osaka Prefectural Research Institute for Environment, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries conducted a survey to see if eels inhabited the Dotonbori River in Minami, Osaka. I caught 11 fish.
The eels we caught were regarding 30 to 60 centimeters in length, and one of the largest eels is on display at the research institute’s “Biodiversity Center” in Neyagawa.
It has been confirmed that eels live in rivers in the prefecture, but according to the research institute, it is the first time that eels have been confirmed to live in the Dotonbori River through academic research.
Yoshihiko Yamamoto, senior researcher at the Biodiversity Center of the Osaka Prefectural Research Institute for Environment, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, said, “The fact that eels live here means that they also live with small fish, shrimp, crabs, and other creatures that they feed on. Also, in the old days, the Dotonbori River was running out of oxygen due to the effects of domestic wastewater, so I mightn’t feed anything, let alone eels. I was talking to
