They ruined someone's dinner plans.
Posted on 03/07/2017 10:35:54 AM PST by Gamecock
A passenger allegedly tried to smuggled 600,000 endangered live eels onto a plane from Heathrow.
The slipper customers, bound for Hong Kong, were spotted hidden under a load of chilled fish at Heathrow Airport.
Border Force officials arrested a man, 64, in Chessington for alleged customs offences and he was bailed until August.
The 200kg of European "glass" eels would be worth around £1.2m on the black market.
The haul was shipped back to Spain, where the fish came from.
There is a total EU ban on their export and they are now considered a prized delicacy in the Far East.
Grant Miller, of the Border Force's Heathrow team, said: "This was a significant seizure, the first of its kind for this type of species at export in the UK."
The eels have been a threatened species as numbers have declined by 90 per cent since the 1970s.
Probably Eely Dan.
Yeah, but I bet he feels eel about losing all of that black market booty.
LOL!
He likely spawned them. This is another classic example of an animal listed endangered that is prolific in the private trade, among hobbyists and private aquaculturists. This is true of animals across the board.
Listing of endangered species precluded counting animals in captivity, that is, supported by private sector human activity. This is nothing more or less than government taking control of the natural environment. In fact governments do an abysmally terrible job of caring for the environment.
Our own EPA is a perfect case in point. Typically animals taken into custody by government agencies are destroyed. I dare say the last line of the article is not true.
Returning them to Spain is not even a faint possibility. Even if they were there are no protocols for releasing them into the wild. China, on the other hand, is perfectly capable of raising an entire new population. The eel would have been better served allowing it to be shipped to its destination. But, then, it is never about the eels. It is only about the government and its authority.
Any slimy concoction is considered a prize delicacy in the Far East.
Hey are you anti-eel or something? You racist!
Yum! Unagi - my favorite Japanese food.
SCOTTY: “It’s not just the eels, Captain; it’s the water!”
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.
My thoughts exactly...
Thanks I knew it was hard if not nearly impossible to get them- and even when they do all the ‘good spots’ are snapped up already- The competition is pretty fierce i guess- and hwo can blame em? The money is phenomenal- better than gold rush really
The had a show on it a few years back- it was quite interesting- wish they had kept the show goin- now all i’ve got is northwoods justice to see maine again lol-
Exactly.
If people can raise them for food, the number of eels will increase globally, not decrease.
Put them in Floriduh. They can live on kudzu and python eggs.
Eeling away the years.... stowing away the brine :)
I heard a story about a bunch of these elver fishermen who would make $60,000 - $70,000 a day, each, and then spend their night at Hollywood Casino in Bangor, Me. drinking and gambling.
The next day, they would collect another $60,000 - $70,000, and so on.
One guy (not one of the drinkers and gamblers) got in trouble for not paying income taxes on their earnings.
Another guy caught these glass eels in New Hampshire and tried selling them in Maine. New Hampshire does not have an elver fishery, so the guy trying to sell the elvers in Maine that he poached in New Hampshire was arrested and had his elvers confiscated.
I think last year the price was under $1,500 a pound.
Elver fisherman are now paid by check. Several years ago, these guys were paid in cash. In my area, I heard there was a building with a lot of heavily armed men; the elver fishermen were paid as soon as they brought in their live eels, after the elvers were weighed. From what I understand, there was literally millions of dollars in cash piled up on the tables.
A year or two ago, the federal government nearly shut the whole fishery down. The feds were worried that the eels were being over harvested and were becoming endangered. However, after a study, the feds determined that the elvers were NOT endangered, so the short season went off as scheduled last year and will this spring as well.
As I said in my previous post, there is a quota now whereas in the past, there was not.
Not far from me is the Union River, which goes through Ellsworth, Maine. On the banks of the river, there are what look like large tan sheets, tied to the river bank on stakes. The baby eels, or elvers, somehow pool up behind these sheet like nets and are then collected by the licenses fisherman who placed them there.
yeah, on the show- they used mostly dip nets on poles- but I had read articles about the sheets that you describe being used- and how the inlets- all the good ones, were taken already- also about the armed folks at the exchange buildings- there was some kind of rash of robberies there for awhile-
I can’t imagine making that much money in a day, then blowing it on gambling- in just 10 days that’d be a 1/2 million dollars- and one would be set for a long time if they worked a month- a person would have to have about zero self control to make that kind of money and just blow it on gamblin -
I didn’t realize there was a casino in Bangor- when did they put that in?
Hello again....
I’ve seen those dip nets on poles that you mentioned in the Union River in downtown Ellsworth, Me.
I haven’t heard of any robberies in my area, but the rooms full of cash are now a thing of the past; the powers that be now require the elver fishermen to be paid by check.
There is a guy who lives near me; he owns a dog kennel.
Last year, he told me that one of the elver fishermen offered to split the money with him next season if he would help him. I would jump at the chance, myself.
This guy is the same person who told me about the guys drinking and gambling all night at Hollywood Casino on the Penobscot River in Bangor, Me. I don’t believe they blew ALL of their money on gambling....just some of it. The casino closes around 3 AM; it’s not 24 hours nonstop, like in Las Vegas. Personally, I would want a good night’s sleep and not be hung over so I could go back to earning good money during a very short season for harvesting these glass eels. Nor would I would to waste more than a tiny amount of money gambling.
The casino was on the ballot years ago....I think it was 2004 or thereabouts. The casino, which was only slot machines and video poker machines....opened in late November 2005 with 475 machines in a large, closed, empty restaurant across the street from the Penobscot River.
A 10-story Holiday Inn, a nearby motel and other properties were torn down in order to build a 7-story hotel with 152 rooms and a casino with about 1,000 slot machines and video poker machines. The permanent property opened on the Penobscot River in 2007. Sixteen table games were added in 2012. I’ve never been there....I’ve got to go there one of these days. Hollywoodcasinobangor.com is their web site.
Another casino was approved and built in Oxford, in western Maine, several years ago. I believe it is jointly owned by a major gaming company and an Indian tribe.
Taxes on Hollywood Casino in Bangor generated $12 million which helped finance the giant Cross Insurance Center across the street from the Hollywood Hotel and Casino. It’s a beautiful facility, and includes an arena with 6,000 seats. Donald Trump held rallies there during the primaries and during the general election.
[[Last year, he told me that one of the elver fishermen offered to split the money with him next season if he would help him.]]
Wow- that is a very generous offer- even just one 2 mo0nth season would be a tremendous financial help- more seasons would be great :)
Yup same with me- I would want every hour possible making as much as possible and work like a dog for short season- it’ a ‘sacrifice’ well worth taking- especially since it’s such a short season and so much $$ involved- opportunities like that do not happen very often-
Yeah i’ve never been to casinos- I’m an addictive personality- got caught up in the idiotic scratch offs and lottery real bad many years ago- I wouldn’t know if i could trust myself in a casino- but i would like to try holdem poker- I used to play that online- just play chips though- bot real money- I had over 4 million play chips at one point- then went on a massive losing streak and lost it all in under 2 weeks lol (but to be fair- i was playing ‘big stakes’ trying to get the chips back- something i likely wouldn’t have done with real money- but who knows- maybe i would have- lol)
I’d start out small stakes- but with my personality, I’d quickly bump it up beyond what i could afford- That is why I’m not a gambler- no discipline when it comes to stuff like that- unless i totally remove myself from it- which I’m ok at- but only after suffering for far too long-
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