PORTLAND (AP) — Maine’s annual baby eel fishing season is coming to an end with the quota nearly tapped out.

Fishermen seek baby eels, called elvers, in rivers and streams in Maine. They are sold to Asian aquaculture companies so they can be raised to maturity and used as food products such as sushi.

Maine fishermen are allowed to catch a little less than 10,000 total pounds of the elvers every spring. The season is set to end today. State statistics say there are about 300 pounds of quota remaining.

The state says elvers are selling for about $1,303 per pound this year. They are the most valuable fishery in the state on a per-pound basis. Elvers have sometimes sold for more than $2,000 per pound in previous seasons.

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