Tag Archives: elvers – translucent baby eels
Publicity may at last be catching up to eel poachers – Eel thefts spur action
When passers-by questioned their activity last month, two potential poachers were scared off a fish run in Falmouth, where they appeared to be working on 35 pounds of glass eels gathered there. Plus, state Rep. Sarah Peake, D-Provincetown, recently filed a bill that increases the maximum fine from $1,000 to $10,000. She expects that bill will see no resistance and will be passed this summer. Read more here 08:07
Maine says it must curtail the elver harvest because of declining population, but fishermen say their livelihood is being interfered with.
Industry officials supported quotas based on historical catch during the first public hearing hosted by state regulators this week in Augusta. Another hearing will be held Jan. 2 in Brewer. “We’re being led down the road by bad science. It’s a data-poor species, so the scientists would rather err on the side of caution. That’s because they get paid and we don’t. They get a check every week. We only get paid if we catch something,” said Jeffrey Pierce, executive director of the Maine Elver Fishermen’s Association. more@portlandpress 17:28
Maine – Four lucky fishermen win a state lottery to harvest baby eels, which can bring up to $2,600 a pound.
Four Mainers hit the jackpot this week when their names were chosen in a state lottery that won’t pay them any money – at least not yet. The winners were notified Tuesday that they have been awarded licenses by the Maine Department of Marine Resources to use dip nets to fish for elvers – translucent baby eels that are roughly the size of a toothpick. “At certain times during the season, prices were running above $2,600 a pound,” Read more here
