PORTLAND, Maine (AP) A pair of Maine men will spend six months in federal prison for illegally trafficking in poached baby eels.

The eels, called elvers, are valuable in the Asian aquaculture market. Prosecutors say William Sheldon and Timothy Lewis were sentenced on Thursday.

Sheldon is an elver dealer who admitted to trafficking nearly $550,000 worth of illegal elvers. Lewis admitted to trafficking nearly $500,000 worth of the fish.

Elver harvesting is a tightly regulated business because of the vulnerability of the species.

Sheldon and Lewis were also sentenced to three years of supervised release. Sheldon was ordered to pay a fine of $10,000 and forfeit $33,200. Lewis was ordered to pay $5,000.

They will not be allowed to possess a license to purchase or export elvers as a condition of their release.