June 13, 2024

By Lynda Kiernan-Stone, Global AgInvesting Media

U.S. Senator Angus King (I-ME) announced an award of $3.4 million from the  Indigenous Animals Harvesting and Meat Processing (IAG) grant program – part of the USDA’s Rural Development program – for the Passamaquoddy Tribe to build a controlled aquaculture eel farm, as opposed to relying on wild eel harvesting. 

This news comes only months after Impact investor RuralWorks, which is a joint venture between Community Reinvestment Fund USA and Conduit Capital, announced a strategic investment in Maine-based American Unagi Inc., the only producer and processor of locally sourced and harvested American Eel (also known as unagi) in the U.S. 

With the capital from this investment, RuralWorks’ American Unagi will be operating in partnership with the local Passamaquoddy Tribe, adding that it is well-positioned to supply escalating U.S. demand for sustainably sourced, traceable seafood, particularly from the rapidly growing Japanese cuisine market. 

Eel is considered a delicacy in many Asian and European markets, and as demand for seafood climbs and the Asian-American population continues to grow and gain influence on the market, it is gaining ground in the U.S. too. But if you’re in a U.S.-based sushi restaurant and order an eel-based dish, there’s an outsized chance it will have most likely been caught wild in the U.S. and raised overseas to be shipped back to the U.S.

However, American Unagi and the Passamaquoddy Tribe are disrupting this round-about system by pioneering an American supply chain for the fish. Located in rural Maine, the aquaculture company produces and sells a range of traceable and environmentally responsible, live and value-added Unagi products to Michelin-star restaurants, independent customers, and distributors throughout the U.S. 

This funding for the Passamaquoddy Tribe is one of eight grants being awarded across the U.S. to support the priorities of Tribal Nations that utilize traditional harvesting methods and indigenous animals such as bison, reindeer, salmon, and eels. 

“This $4.3 million grant for the Passamaquoddy Tribe to further bolster their eel aquaculture work is not only an economic investment, but also an investment in the Tribe’s rich tradition of eel harvesting,” said Senator King.

American Eels are known as a catadromous (the opposite of anadromous) and an amphihaline species, meaning they divide their life between the ocean and freshwater, migrating from freshwater back to the ocean again to spawn. They can be found along the U.S. Eastern seaboard, southeastern Canada, and the Gulf of Mexico, and as far inland as the Great Lakes, migrating back to the Sargasso Sea to spawn during the fall.

After spawning, the adult eels die at sea and ocean currents carry their larvae back toward the land. During this time they continue to grow and undergo three stages until they reach the coast at  stages called “glass eels” and “elvers”, which are migratory and reach estuaries by spring before reaching rivers.

However, no matter the geographic location, whether the U.S., Asia, or Europe, it is near impossible to breed eels in captivity, leaving the entire industry to rely on catching young eels in the wild to be raised in farming operations. 

American Unagi purchases its elvers from licensed Maine eel harvesters, and then raises them in their state-of-the-art aquafarm – a process that can take up to two years. Driven by increasing consumer demand for traceable and sustainable seafood, the company’s products are all accountable back to the specific fisherman who harvested the juveniles from Maine’s rivers. 

“With the current wild eel harvesting quotas remaining in place, this grant is even more important as the Passamaquoddy looks to sustain and build on their eel fishery,” said Senator King. “This funding from the USDA’s Rural Development program will help further modernize our state’s seafood industry and ensure the Tribe has the tools and resources to thrive.”

~ Lynda Kiernan-Stone is editor in chief with GAI Media, and is managing editor and daily contributor for Global AgInvesting’s AgInvesting Weekly News and Agtech Intel News. She can be reached at lkiernan-stone@globalaginvesting.com.

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