Narrator: This kilogram of baby eels
has just sold for over $7,000.
Angulas are the young of the European eel.
They're a delicacy in Spain,
where every year they're auctioned off
for thousands of dollars.
But angulas are tiny.
Fishers need to catch 3,000 of them to reach 1 kilo,
a task that requires spending entire nights in the water,
in total darkness, braving strong tides and stormy seas.
And while angulas are prized for their crunchy texture,
they have a very mild taste -- almost nonexistent.
Narrator: So, who buys baby eels?
And why are these fish so expensive?
It's midnight in Ribadesella, in the north of Spain,
and it's the first day of the baby-eel season.
Narrator: Manolo has been fishing eels
for the last 33 years.
He's one of 46 fishers here in Ribadesella
who are licensed to fish angulas.
Tonight marks the beginning of a four-month-long season.
Narrator: The fishing takes place at night,
when the eels are most active.
Narrator: The first thing Manolo does is assess the water.
Right now, although awake, the eels are hiding in the sand,
so he relies on the movement of the water to reveal them.
Narrator: To fish, Manolo uses a custom rake
called a ceazo.
Narrator: Manolo's timing needs to be spot on.
If he lifts the rake one second later than he should,
the same wave that pushed the eel into his net
can also wash it back into the sea.
Narrator: Even with the right equipment,
baby-eel fishing has a serious risk
of coming back empty-handed.
That's because there is one thing Manolo can't predict:
the weather.
Narrator: Tonight is also a full moon.
While it may give him some light on this dark beach,
it's not ideal, as some eels may confuse it with daytime
and stay buried in the sand.
Narrator: This change of beach is a gamble for Manolo.
There is no guarantee there will be eels there.
That's because much is still unknown about their life cycle.
The angulas' journey starts very far away,
in the Sargasso Sea, a region of the Atlantic Ocean
close to the Caribbean.
There, adult eels spawn and die,
and their hatchlings travel through the Gulf Stream
until they reach the coast of Spain, seeking fresh water.
When they arrive, the angulas are transparent.
As they move out of the salty ocean and into rivers,
the higher temperature of the fresh water
will turn them from transparent to black
as they mature into adult eels.
Catching them before this transition occurs is essential.
But the eels' exact journey is unknown,
and it's impossible to predict the number of angulas
that will arrive at the start of the season.
Narrator: This unpredictability makes Manolo's job
even more difficult.
Narrator: Although the night is not going so well,
the eels Manolo finds tonight
will be the most expensive of the season.
That's because buyers will pay a premium
for the first night's catch.
Narrator: Manolo caught 90 grams tonight.
He doesn't know how much it will be worth yet.
Before the eels are sold at the auction,
workers at Ribadesella market clean them with a sponge
to remove all the excess water
that could affect their weight.
1.4 kilos arrived at the market today,
the total catch of all fishers working last night.
On a good day, the total catch can weigh 5 or 6 kilos.
Today's low total will make this auction
even more competitive.
Bidders for the angulas
are typically restaurants in the area.
And the lucky chef who will get to cook the eels
is there in person to make the bid.
Narrator: Manuel is the chef at El Campanu,
a restaurant in Ribadesella.
He holds the record for the highest-ever bid.
His restaurant paid 6,620 euros per kilo in 2019.
Narrator: The auction itself is very quiet.
It's done using a screen, and each buyer
has a remote control that they use to make their bid.
Narrator: Manuel made it.
He gets to cook the first kilo of angulas of the season --
for 7,280 euros.
That's a new record high.
Narrator: Out of the whole batch,
those 90 grams that Manolo fished last night
were worth 655 euros today.
Narrator: But not all baby eels cost over 7,000 euros.
Cost is variable depending on the time of year.
That's why for fishers like Manolo,
it's impossible to rely on just angula fishing for a living.
Narrator: Eel fishing here in Ribadesella
is heavily regulated.
Fishers like Manolo are only allowed to fish baby eels
between November and February,
with five mandatory rest days each month.
Each fisher needs to hold a license,
and certain beaches are no-fishing zones.
Breaking any of these rules can cost as much as 6,000 euros.
These regulations mean that the price of angulas
has skyrocketed in recent decades.
Narrator: In the last 50 years,
the demand for the increasingly scarce eels
has risen so much that gulas,
a cheaper copy of baby eels, were born.
Gulas are made of surimi,
the same fish paste used to make imitation crab,
and cost 62 times less than angulas.
They are now just as popular as the real thing.
This makes cooking with real baby eels
a delicate task for chefs like Manuel.
He needs to make sure
the subtle taste of the angulas shines through
and that they don't lose their texture,
or they could be mistaken for their cheap imitation.
Angulas can't be cooked alive because they'll release slime,
so Manuel treats them with a tobacco infusion first.
Narrator: He then removes the unwanted slime by hand.
Narrator: Despite the proliferation of gulas,
in the last few years
real angulas have enjoyed increased popularity.
The first-day auctions generate a lot of buzz,
with chefs arriving from all over Spain to make their bids.
Narrator: Baby eels have become so popular
that overfishing and smuggling are serious risks.
In 2017, Spanish police uncovered
an international trafficking operation headed for China
which included 2 million euros' worth of angulas.
But it's unclear if the seasons to come
will be able to support this rise in demand.
The European eel is listed as critically endangered,
and fewer and fewer baby eels arrive
at the beaches of Ribadesella each year.
Narrator: There are different theories for this decline,
including climate change, habitat deterioration,
pollution, and overfishing.
But for Manolo, fishing angulas is not about money.