ASSOCIATED PRESS • May 27, 2023
Baby eels, called elvers, are often worth more than $2,000 per pound because of how valuable they are to Asian aquaculture companies. That makes them one of the most valuable fish species in the country. The fishermen are limited to a combined quota of a little less than 10,000 pounds per year and were about through it by early May. Maine has adopted new controls in recent years to try to thwart illegal elver fishing and dealing in the state. Federal law enforcement has also targeted illegal eel dealing and fishing. Still, illegal dealing persists. One study found that as much as two-fifths of the North American unagi samples they tested actually contained European eels, which are banned from importing or exporting.