A large number of baby eels worth $500,000 were discovered at Toronto's Pearson Airport

A large number of baby eels, prepared for shipment overseas, seized at Toronto's Pearson Airport are worth an estimated $400,000 to $500,000, according to federal officials. The discovery of 109 kilograms of baby eel was made on Wednesday by the Department of Fisheries and Oceans and the Canada Border Services Agency.

"Our message is crystal clear: don't travel to Nova Scotia this year to poach or export baby eel because our officers will be waiting for you," Fisheries Minister Diane Leboutillier said in a statement Friday.

The federal government canceled the lucrative baby eel fishery in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick on March 11.

Baby eels are worth about $5,000 per kilogram, more than lobster, scallops or salmon, making them the most valuable fish by weight in Canada.

Baby eels weigh only a few grams and are less than 10 cm long. Baby eels, sometimes called glass eels, are usually transported to Asia where they are raised to maturity and sold as food and used in unagi dishes at sushi restaurants.

Federal data shows 149 people have been arrested for crimes related to baby eel, and nearly 208 kilograms of it has been seized so far this year.

Baby eels are caught at night and in the spring from the coastal rivers of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Maine. This fish can be caught using minimal equipment, often with a bucket and a funnel-shaped net called a net.

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