Fresh From the Delaware River: Eel - Aug 2025

Every year, we catch wild eel straight from the Delaware River.

Our family is one of only two (2) fishers in New York State with a license to catch and harvest eel commercially.

Here’s how we do it:

1. Building the Dam

Every season, we rebuild the eel dam piling up rocks and river stones to make a dam. This directs the eel to swim towards the trap because their path is redirected with the stones and current. It takes days of hard work and a lot of helping hands from family and friends who join us to move rocks, shape the flow, and create the structure by hand.

Building the Dam

2. Handmade Eel Trap Installation

By the end of each season, the old trap is too worn and needs to be rebuilt which can take days to make from scratch. Once the new trap is built we're able to install it into the dam.

Handmade Eel Trap Installation

3. Regular Maintenance and Cleaning

Once the dam and the trap are in place, we must clean and maintain the trap every few days. If it gets clogged with leaves, branches, or debris, no eel can get through. It’s tedious work, but almost as important as making the damn to keeping the catch flowing!

Regular Maintenance and Cleaning

4. Catching and Relocating

Once they’re caught in the trap, we transfer the eel out of the river and into storage. If the river floods — which it often does — they can escape back into the water. Timing is everything.

Catching and Relocating

5. Freshwater Fishery

We store the eel in a custom-built freshwater fishery that takes advantage of the natural water around us. It keeps water flowing continuously to oxygenate the tanks, without it, the eel wouldn’t survive. This way, we can keep them healthy and fresh until they’re ready to serve to our customers.

Freshwater Fishery

It’s a lot of work, but this is just how we do things. It’s something we figured out over time, season after season. It takes a lot of effort, but it’s worth it. We just keep doing what’s worked for our family, and we’re proud to still be doing it the same way today!

Thanks for following along! We’re grateful to share this part of our story, and we hope you enjoy every bite!