Elvers, also called glass eels, are baby American Eels. They are caught at the mouths of largish Maine streams in the spring as they make their way to inland lakes and ponds to live. When full grown, they will return to the ocean to spawn. When caught, the elvers are shipped alive to Asia, where they are raised and turned into sushi. Elvers make their way upstream at night at high tide. Elver fishermen, who are strictly regulated and permitted, either stake out nets on the banks of rivers, or "dip" for the eels with skeins at the end of long poles. Elver fishermen in Maine seem to be, for the most part, salt-of-the-earth types who have been at it for a long time. The licenses are strictly limited and are held onto for a long time. When not elver fishing, the folks are often lobstermen or other types of fishermen, or, given the state of things, out of work.