MAINE PUBLIC • August 2, 2023
The eel management board of the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission announced on Tuesday that it will consider raising the number of baby eels fishermen can harvest in Maine. Maine fishermen harvest baby eels, also known as elvers, from estuaries and rivers, and sell them to aquaculture businesses in Asia. Those companies then raise the elvers to maturity, and sell them as a Japanese delicacy. As the eel population diminished in some waterways near Japan, the price of elvers skyrocketed to $2,000 per pound. Currently, Maine fishermen catch around 10,000 pounds of baby eels per year.