Slow Start To Maine Elver Season Causes Prices To Soar

Maine’s baby eel season is off to a slow start, causing prices to balloon back to historic levels as fishermen wait for waterways to finish thawing.

Elvers, also called glass eels, are sold overseas as seed stock for Asian aquaculture companies that raise them to maturity and sell them as food. Maine fishermen are by far the largest supplier of elvers in the U.S. Some end up back in America in restaurants as sushi.

The fishery for the baby eels is one of the most valuable in Maine, even though value dropped in 2014. Fishermen caught 9,690 pounds of elvers last year at an average price of $874.52 per pound, according to state data.

To read the rest of the story, please go to: The Associated Press