The Maine elver fishery, in the past several years, has gone from a small niche to one of the country’s most valuable seafood products by volume.
The relatively short season wrapped up this year on 22 May and brought in a total of just over 9,600 pounds of elvers, or just over 4 metric tons, close to the total quota of the fishery. Despite the relatively small volume compared to most fisheries, it brought in over USD 20.1 million (EUR 17.9 million), with the average price per pound – according to the Maine Department of Marine Resources – sitting at USD 2,093 (EUR 1,865).
While above average relative to the historic norm, those prices aren’t unusual compared to the past few years and can even reach higher heights depending on the bulk volume that a harvester can bring in. In 2018, some fishermen reported getting paid USD 2,500 (EUR 2,227) per pound.
Virtually all of the tiny elvers, which are also called glass eels, make their way to aquaculture facilities in Asia. Those facilities grow out the baby eels into full-size adults for the food industry. Currently, wild harvests are the only way to acquire baby eels for seed stock. Previously, local harvests of eels – such as the Japonica eel in Japan – were enough to satisfy demand, but with falling wild harvests and increasing demand the once-small Maine elver fishery was suddenly a big supplier.
Seeing all those elvers immediately leave the state gave Sara Rademaker, of American Unagi, an idea: Develop aquaculture operations in Maine that can grow the eels to generate more value out of the state’s elver fishery. While the small eels sell for thousands a pound, they generate even more value when they’re fully grown.
Rademaker’s vision recently took a big step as the town of Waldoboro, Maine approved her plan for a 27,000-square-foot aquaculture facility, according to the Lincoln County News.
Rademaker has been growing the eels since 2014, “with just a handful of eels in her basement,” according to American Unagi’s website. One year later, the company expanded to a pilot facility, which is now at capacity, hence the need for the expansion.
“I grew eels at a small-scale commercial density, demonstrating the product could work in the U.S.,” Rademaker said during a Waldoboro Planning Board meeting.
A large well at the site, which is located in the town’s business park, is a part of why she selected the location, she said. The site already had aquaculture operations present, such as the recently-closed Acadia Harvest.
Groundbreaking on the project will begin this summer, with operations starting some time in 2020.
Photo courtesy of American Unagi
