Last year's eel fishing season started strongly when prices rocketed above USD 2,000 (EUR 1,544) a pound. High prices are again expected when the 2013 season kicks off Friday.
Prices won't be set until the catch gets under way, but eel dealers say there's little doubt that they'll be high.
"If the catches are great, the prices will go lower. If the catches are poor, the prices will go higher," said Mitchell Feigenbaum, owner of Delaware Valley Fish Co., which buys eels in Portland and ships them to China. "There's still ample demand for the product worldwide."
The price that fishermen get for their eels has fluctuated wildly through the years, but spiked two years ago due to an eel shortage from Japan and export restrictions in Europe.
Last year the price reached unprecedented levels. When all was said and done, they were worth USD 38 million (EUR 29.4 million) — an average of just under USD 2,000 a pound — to fishermen, making it the state's second-most-valuable fishery behind lobster in 2012.
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