America's Hottest Black Market: Inside the Eel Gold Rush 

"The money changed my life, I bought a four wheeler" lol

It's amazing the patience that must go into these videos. Footage from 2017 and it's just now seeing the light of day in 2020. Commendable.

"Operation Broken Glass" .. Alright, I will hand it to you.. excellent operation name

Eel collapse has already happened in Western Europe. What was once a poor man's staple is now almost non-existent except in luxury restaurants. US, learn from Europe, start rationing tbe licences.

Former gov't employee now runs the eel racket. Go figure.

As a native of georgia, i always loved finding an eelnon a trotline. The meat was always delicious. I've wondered why i dont see them the way i did as a child. Now, i know. That's sad.

As long as the money is there and the people don't have better economic situations the problem will exist.

Cod, tuna, certain mushrooms, now eels.....nothing new here.

There's probably an intermediate solution involving capping catches, as has been done in other fisheries by the US fish and wildlife service for decades. The species need not be registered endangered, but the overfishing should be kept in check with sustainable fishing practices with adequate regulations. It's probably not what these fisherman will want, but it's a lot better than the alternatives.

They should have a season opening and closing to help the eels recover in their populations

The tragedy of the commons.

American Eel is endangered...yet it’s still being fished LEGALY as well as illegally, especially during a juvenile stage... when do we learn our lesson about eradicating species and collapsing ecosystems!!?

This is so interesting. I had no idea about any money for eels.

I like the way this is filmed, it has a nice feel to it!

I hope this video doesn't give people the idea to go into the eel business.

I think we're gonna need a bigger boat.

Circa 07:02 Q - "How do you stay awake?" A - "Drive the coffee to me." Me - "That and meth... lots of meth."

once it dries up everyone gonna be crying....

The real question is how much are the Eels really worth. If they are willing to pay that much for a pound, how much are the people overseas making?

YT commenters: Why don't they just breed these eels in captivity? Google: Why aren't you asking me that question? Short answer: They grow in fresh water, travel to the ocean to breed once, and die. With current technology, we cannot replicate the conditions needed for their complex lifecycle.

This was great.

I can't take a man seriously when he walks to the water wearing a bathroab over his clothes

You are the only one that can save these eels from being mistreated and fished on the brink of extinction. Everything is always because of greed. I am thankful that there is someone like you doing something for the eel s . May God be with you .Louise from Jackson California

the atlantic back at it again

Why can't the state start an elver hatchery?

lol pound of glass eels cost more than a pound of Marijuana in Cali's black market.

Maine, US .. seems like fishing heaven. I really want to go there to go fishing. There is so much fresh water + coast line... and extremely small population... all adds up to tons of fish

I JUST CAME HERE FOR THE COMMENTS 😁

Nice photography and editing

Cool. I just finished watching the expensive truffles video and came upon the expensive eels video. I wasted my college time studying stuff and now I'm retired and I don't even have a four wheeler. People getting money from the river and from the ground, oh, my heart! I think this is the big one!

Great mini docu, filming and all

damn that guy 600k three time's a week to pay ppl wonder what he took home?

wow...I have NEVER even heard of this

Very interesting and informative.

Oh so thats why we dont have the eels in Denmark anymore

this eel nomad guy is my literal hero

Rather than sell the seeds develo the eel to adulthood and make real money.

man and immediately thought the only real valuable catch in maine was lobsters, to know these eels are second only to them? damn

Eels ecology is a mystery and couldn't be concluded even among scientists. We don't know where they specifically lay eggs and came in Maine state through any path. One thing of found out by scientists is North American and European babies eels came from the Sargasso Sea of the Atlantic Ocean.

To say these people are making thousands of dollars, they don't look like they live a lavish life.

i'm from a town in maine where these eels are harvested. sometimes there is a lot of trash left behind and people get quite pissed about the illicit activity. its a big double edged sword because like the guy said at the beginning, we are poor in maine

Those things look so nasty. Hard to imagine eating them.

As soon as I heard that man say dollar in his mainer accents I knew I'm missing home cant wait to be back in maine

Greed, affects the Mind!

What a great story!

2013 and 14 was great fishing :-( miss those does

I wish the nymphs would develop an expensive taste for kangaroo rats. I could be a millionaire.

Fricken Hicks lmao going bonkers over these endangered fish smh funny what a little bit of money can do to clueless ppl at least if your fishing them that hard help replenish so you can at least count on them being there for the next generation

Humanity is sick. The worst predators ever, and not for survival, but for money.

So crazy to see this. I knew of Maine residents quietly doing this back in 2006.

you can lead a horse to water but you can’t make him drink.

This is the craziest US accent I've ever heard...

Yep, I worked as a stern man. Was a clam digger in Harrington. Now I work on Drones in California. I do miss Downeast.

Americans supported by China in the heart of Maine. The irony lmao!

Very interesting documentary, but quick question - is this what all people in Maine speak like, or is this a certain region of Maine's dialect? I'm from the Midwest and have never met someone who lived north of New York and this dialect is fascinating to me because it's got that Northeastern sound but also is like nothing quite like I have heard before.

There used to be dozens of people selling them when i was growing up each season, you knew who were selling them because a chair was placed outside their homes with a white towel draped over it. Quick fried with bacon, yumm.

The one guy talking with the map looks like the dude in the video who had the frozen Sasquatch head

10:17 how my dude gonnna use a laptop like that?

Just like the codfish make the money till they disappear same with bluefin tuna in nova scotia and the halibut in alaska que sera sera

Bill Sheldon shouldn't tell the world how much cash he has on hand even if they do have a couple cheap high point pistols, won't stop one professional with an automatic rifle.

why not just grow your own eels first, then sell them.... seems like they populate in mass numbers

I understand how it could help people but at the same time it's quite sad that those animals are never going to reach maturity and reproduce because they're harvested shortly after they are born. I know some other countries that used to allow collecting glass Eels they have made any illegal now because it devastates the population and in the video at like 9:30 the guy says they buy them to grow them out to serve them in restaurants they do not grow them out they eat them as glass eel ( baby Eels) because it's a delicacy in Japan China in Asia they pay small fortunes for a small bowl of glass eels they do not grow them out for the most part

I’m about to move to Maine!!

Well now I know where I'm moving to n wat I'll be doing lol

Need a length limit like all other fish .. Like you can only keep them if they are 18" or more .. Problem solved ✌

LOVE his bathrobe!!!!!

Reminds me of the South Park dolphins episode.

very good video.. in indonesia so many baby eel bicolour, we usualy fried and eat them.. just go to river and catch them. if want to buy in market very cheap.

These fisherpeople will keep going untill there's nothing left, then blame the Gov't for not regulating sooner, typical human greed

Reporter:How do you stay awake? Guy:"Drive a coffee to me"(inside his head "Meth baby,meth)

This was fascinating. . . I wonder if theres anything similar here in straya

Didn’t know they grew them on !?! I know they’re a delicacy at the size they are i have a jar of them from Spain. Look like noodles with eyes.

We need to keep all the eels for bait to catch the Asian carp. Also if a 5 gallon bucket was worth 1/2 a million the American eel would have been wiped out in the first 2 week.

"Ell,,it's what's for Dinner" - Jim Rockford voice from the grave. lol

Why not use adult eels to make a hatchery and then use them rather than using those ones in the wild?

That's big money right there

his backyard would look like the moon......lol

Fishing the babies of a species has to be the stupidest thing possible. What a disgusting example of human waste.

Hope they ain't doing this here in New Zealand yet because we have some special eels down here, not to mention they grow to massive size

Why doesn't Maine fisheries raise the eels to adult size themselves and sell to Japan?

Sad. Good reporting though 🔎

It's hard to believe people like this still exist today. America is so backwards.

Which place to buy here in the phil somilya or seedling

I'll be moving to Maine next month lol

WTF, I'm from Maine, I've never heard of this!

As someone who lives in Maine i can tell you nobody eats those slimy things why not export them and bring more money back to Maine (is nobody gonna mention that the one guy who is worried about their extinction wearing a robe down to the river?)

Tell me elvers dont look exactly like the worms from 'the strain'

why cant we farm them and reintroduce them, place a tax on the sale of them that pays for a fishery to grow and help repopulate the streams

Greed is the same it's just takes different forms. Be it Wall Street or be it back country.

how do you stay awake? "ehhh coffee" yea right.....

At 12:55 when that dude was talking about how he hopes bill disappears (goes to jail). What typa shit is that.

A five gallon bucket filled up is a HALF A MILLION F@#*IN DOLLARS . !! This is totally nuts

What is more important children eating sheltered and clothed on some fish. I vote my kid just like you would.

WTF is that crazy price? wow !

I catch eels here on the eastern shore In spring and fall dont get no where near as much as glasses do but still good money guy with a tractor trailer comes in picks them up and ships them to europe/Asia

reminds me of a video called eel soup, yuk!

If you had a rotation system on the catching of eels that's to say take a break for one year or more, and then catch eels three years in a row you would probably more than quadruple your income it short-sightedness greed! No matter how prolific it will soon enough be depleted....

Can they frame these eels and where can I get live one's

Wouldn’t say it’s a black market if the government is ok with it

How come we are not seeing any eels in our stores ? I am hungry!