A Wareham resident was among two men arrested in Portland, Maine Thursday evening for possession of elvers with no license, according to an article in the Bangor Daily News.

Andrew Cournoyer, 43, of West Wareham, and Josh Medeiros, 30, of South Dartmouth were reportedly found with around 20 pounds of elvers on Commerical Street in Portland by Maine Marine Patrol investigators.

According to the article, Sgt. Scott Beal of the Maine Marine Patrol said the men were found with the elvers in two coolers, and they were in the process of attempting to sell them.

He said the elvers they possessed had a street value of approximately $400 to $600 a pound.

Another article by WMTW News 8 said that though the men did not say where they got the eels, Beal thought that they acquired them in Massachusetts and transported them to Maine.

Elvers, which are baby eels, saw a major increase in demand in the United States after the tsunami hit Japan last year. Japan was a major supplier of elvers to countries like China and South Korea, where they are served for food and are extremely popular, though now, most of those are imported from the United States.

Maine and South Carolina are the only two states where elver fishing is legal in the United States, though a license is necessary to do so.

According to several sources, last year, during the two-month harvesting period, Maine saw a “gold-rush” of sorts with the elvers, where prices rose to around $2,000 per pound. Since then, the market has gone down, though still very lucrative.

The Bangor Daily News article said the men were charged with possession of elvers without a license, a Class D crime which could see fines of up to $2,000. It also said that the men were brought to Cumberland County Jail.