Diners in China are being forced to shell out a high price for a delicacy because of its growing rarity.

Coilia nasus, or the Japanese Grenadier Anchovy, is a fish that once could be found abundantly in China’s Yangtze River, according to Thepaper.cn. However, pollution in the waters as well as overfishing has caused its number to plummet in the recent decades. According to Shanghai fish merchants, the fish suffered an 80 percent drop in supplies last year.

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Back then, diners could purchase the Japanese grenadier anchovy for only about a few thousand yuan, but now intent diners are forced to pay up to 15,000 yuan ($2.321) for a mere kilo of the said fish.

During spring season, the Japanese grenadier anchovy swims from the sea into the Yangtze river with the intention of laying its eggs. However, most of it are caught and end up as food on the dinner table.

As the Japanese grenadier anchovy’s numbers decline to a dangerous level, Chinese authorities plan to recognize the fish as an endangered species next year, giving it the necessary protection that it needs. As such, the demand for the seafood delicacy has risen, with diners wanting to get a last taste of the fish.

The Japanese grenadier anchovy is a beautiful, rare fish that tastes fresh and good no matter how it is prepared, said Saga Trip Genius, a tourism website for Saga City in Japan. It could be fried, added to soup, grilled with salt or broiled.

It is called “Etsu” or “Fonwuii” in Japan, and can only be seen in the Chikugo River area. It can only be tasted during the period between May and July, when the fish travels upstream to lay its eggs.

TagsEtsu, Japanese grenadier anchovy, Coilia nasus, Yangtze River