Tag Archives: baby American eels
Maine’s Elver harvest tops $13 million as the season winds down
As of 5 p.m. Thursday, May 26, elver fishermen throughout Maine had caught and sold nearly 9,270 pounds of the baby American eels for an estimated statewide gross revenue total just shy of $13.32 million, officials with Maine Department of Marine Resources indicated on the agency’s website. The annual statewide harvest limit for elvers in Maine is 9,688 pounds. The 2016 season is expected to end either on June 7 or when the statewide quota of 9,688 pounds is reached, whichever happens first. Jonesport fisherman Billy Milliken said Wednesday that despite the high value of the fishery this year, his elver income is about the same as it was in 2015, when only 5,259 pounds were caught statewide. Read the story here 21:14
Video – Expectations high for 2016 elver catch, prices
If last year’s prices hold and warm weather persists, it could be another big year for Maine’s elver fishery. The annual elver fishing season in Maine, which is one of only two states that permit the harvesting of baby American eels as they swim upstream into fresh water from the Atlantic Ocean, is due to start at noon Tuesday, March 22. In 2015, the average price Maine elver fishermen were paid for their catch, also called the shore price, reached a record high, as it rose above $2,000 per pound — more than twice as high as it had been the year before. Read the rest here 10:22
