PORTLAND, Maine (AP) -- Maine lawmakers are looking to change the restrictions on the state's baby eel fishery to give fishermen a better chance to catch their quotas.
The baby eels, called elvers, are sold to aquaculture companies that raise them to maturity and use them as food. They frequently end up in sushi and sashimi.
The elvers are the most valuable fishery in the state per pound. But fishermen must abide by a strict quota system that limits them to 9,688 pounds per year. Fishermen only caught just over 5,000 pounds of elvers last year.
A legislative committee recently approved a plan to extend the season by a week and allow weekend fishing. It now goes to the full legislature.
Maine is the only state in the country with a significant elver fishery.
