Decision Soon on Listing Eels Under Endangered Species Act

Fishermen benefiting from booming prices for American eels are squirming about a decision expected this month on whether to list the fish under the Endangered Species Act.

A worker kills eels at Tsukiji Fish Market on October 30, 2008. Photo by Chris Jackson/Getty Images

PORTLAND, Maine — Fishermen benefiting from booming prices for American eels are squirming about a decision expected this month on whether to list the fish under the Endangered Species Act.

An environmental advocacy group wants the federal government to list the American eel as threatened, giving the fish protections that would greatly limit fishermen’s ability to pursue and catch them.

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s decision about protecting the eels will likely come toward the end of September, said Steven Shepard, a spokesman for the agency.

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