# American Unagi

> American Unagi was a Waldoboro, Maine aquaculture company founded by Sara Rademaker to keep the American eel supply chain in America. It bought locally harvested glass eels, raised them in land-based recirculating tanks, and sold live eel, fillets, smoked eel and tinned products to chefs, distributors and online shoppers. The company proved the technical model at commercial scale, opened a $10 million facility, won a major seafood product award, then filed Chapter 11 in September 2025 and ceased operations in early 2026 after a buyer failed to materialize.

- **Founded:** 2014
- **Headquarters:** Waldoboro, United States
- **Founders:** Sara Rademaker (Founder and CEO)
- **Team size:** Approximately 12 employees in 2024; operations ceased in early 2026.
- **Products:** Live American eel, Butterflied eel premium fillets, Smoked eel, Tinned smoked eel, Taste of Unagi Collection
- **Notable:** Built and opened a 27,000-square-foot, 240-metric-ton-capacity recirculating aquaculture facility in Waldoboro., Developed a domestic chain of custody from licensed Maine elver harvesters to U.S. chefs and consumers., Graduated from the University of Maine’s aquaculture business incubator.

## Products & services

- **Live American eel** — Market-size, Maine-raised eel supplied to chefs, restaurants and distributors.
- **Butterflied eel premium fillets** — Fresh or frozen cleaned fillets prepared for cooking.
- **Smoked eel** — Value-added smoked American eel sold to foodservice and online shoppers.
- **Tinned smoked eel** — Shelf-stable smoked eel packed for retail sale.
- **Taste of Unagi Collection** — A direct-to-consumer assortment of American Unagi products.

## Achievements

- Built and opened a 27,000-square-foot, 240-metric-ton-capacity recirculating aquaculture facility in Waldoboro.
- Developed a domestic chain of custody from licensed Maine elver harvesters to U.S. chefs and consumers.
- Graduated from the University of Maine’s aquaculture business incubator.
- Won the Fish 2.0 short-pitch competition in 2017.
- Won Best New Foodservice Product at Seafood Expo North America in 2025.
- Generated nearly $1 million in additional income for partner harvesters over the company’s operating life, according to Rademaker.

## Latest updates

- **2025-03** — Won Best New Foodservice Product at Seafood Expo North America.
- **2025-06** — Announced plans to expand production and add dedicated kabayaki processing capacity.
- **2025-09** — Filed voluntary Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection to pursue a restructuring and going-concern sale.
- **2025-12** — Maine Community Bank acquired the company’s assets through a $1 million credit bid after no actionable third-party offer materialized.
- **2026-01** — The bankruptcy case was dismissed after the asset transfer.
- **2026-02** — Operations were reported shuttered, at least temporarily; the bank said it was seeking a buyer for the facility.

## Links

- Website: https://americanunagi.com
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/american-unagi
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/americanunagi/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/americanunagi/

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/american-unagi
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-08-21