February 25, 2019 — Maine’s lucrative baby eel industry will likely face tighter controls this year designed to thwart poaching, as officials consider requiring state law enforcement officers to oversee the packing and shipping of the wriggling critters.

Baby eels, called elvers, are an important part of the worldwide supply chain for Japanese food. Maine fishermen harvest them from rivers and streams every spring, and they are typically worth more than $1,000 per pound. No other U.S. state has a significant elver fishery.

But poaching has dogged the industry. Last year’s season was shut down by state regulators two weeks early after investigators unearthed concerns about illegal sales.

This year, the Maine Department of Marine Resources is looking to add a requirement that elver exporters in the state must notify the Maine Marine Patrol 48 hours before preparing to pack and ship the eels. The officer will witness the weighing and packing of the elvers and then mark the package with a seal that must remain intact and untampered with until the eels reach their destination.

“That is a way to secure the shipment and ensure that the package is not tampered with and elvers illegally harvested will not end up in those shipments,” said Jeff Nichols, a spokesman for the marine resources department.

Read the story from the Associated Press at the Bangor Daily News