Darling Marine Center cited in AP article on Maine eel farmer
The University of Maine Darling Marine Center was mentioned in an Associated Press article about how a Maine aquaculture farmer wants to keep baby eels, or elvers, in the state. Elvers are at the center of a lucrative business in Maine, which is home to the only large-scale fishing operation for them in the country, according to the article. Fishermen sold them for more than $2,000 per pound last year, and they typically are sent as seed stock to Asian aquaculture companies to be raised to maturity and processed into sushi and other food products, the article states. In an attempt to keep more of the state’s valuable baby eels closer to home, Rademaker launched American Unagi in 2014 and sold her first eels to Maine sushi restaurants this summer. She buys her elvers locally and raises them at the Darling Marine Center in Walpole, the AP reported. Rademaker said she expects to sell more than 2,000 pounds of the eels within two years. The Washington Times and Madison.com carried the AP report.