These eels are big business in Maine- but I suppose it’s near impossible to get a licenses ot fish them- I’m guessing there is a quota to the licenses - and people will likely have signed up years in advance-
I live in Maine.
They stopped giving out licenses for glass eels back in 2009. Now, when someone gives up their license, I think there is a lottery for the available license or licenses.
The season is in late April and in May. A handful of years ago, these baby glass eels were selling for as much as $2,500 a pound.
A guy in my area made $2 million in two months. Most people make less than that, but still quite a bit for a short season. At one time, the elver fisherman, as they are called....were paid in cash.
These glass eels, or elvers, are found in fresh water rivers and stream that empty into salt water. They are shipped live to Korea, Japan, China, and elsewhere in Asia where these eels are raised into adulthood and then harvested.
I believe there is a now a quota on these eels. At one time there was NO quota. Years ago, the money was not nearly as good as it has been in recent years.
The only other state that allows the legal harvest of these baby eels is South Carolina.
It IS a big deal here in Maine.