Maine Man Jailed for Theft of Baby Eels

The Maine Marine Patrol has arrested a man with a charge that he illegal possessed lucrative baby eels.

Sixty-one-year-old Dana Wayne-Holmes of Gardiner, Maine, faces up to a year in jail and a $2,000 fine if convicted of the charge. Authorities say he was attempting to purchase and sell baby eels, called elvers, without a license.

Elvers sometimes sell for more than $2,000 per pound.

The marine patrol says Holmes held an elver dealer license in 2015 but does not have one now. The patrol says he also faces a potential one-year suspension of his right to obtain a dealer license.

The patrol says it seized 13.5 pounds of elvers from Holmes. He was arrested April 2 and subsequently bailed out.

A member of Holmes's family declined to comment.