Fishermen in the U.S.’s only commercial-scale fishing industry for valuable baby eels once again had a productive season searching for the tiny fish.
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 U.S. They’re raised to maturity so they can be used in Japanese food, some of which is sold in the U.S. in unagi dishes at sushi restaurants.
The elvers have again been worth more than $2,000 per pound at the docks this year, according to the Maine Department of Marine Resources. 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, the department said. The price was a tick below last year’s, but higher than the previous two.
Fishermen this year have been aided by favorable weather and strong international demand, said Jeffrey K. Pierce, a former Maine state representative and adviser to the Maine Elver Fishermen Association. Foreign sources of baby eels have largely dried up, and that has made Maine eels more valuable in recent years.
