Tag Archives: Elver eels
Man accused of assaulting conservation officer after elvers bust in downtown Dartmouth
The alleged incident took place one week ago — not on a remote rural stream, but on the Shubenacadie Canal in downtown Dartmouth. The federal Fisheries Department and the provincial Department of Natural Resources called police to the 100 block of Alderney Drive shortly before 10 p.m. local time on April 10. A spokesperson for the Halifax Regional Police, Const. Ann Giffin, said a 39-year-old man was arrested and is due in court at a later date. James Nevin maintained he did nothing wrong. He claimed conservation officers did not identify themselves and that he was sprayed with bear spray in the course of his arrest at Martins Park. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 11:09
“A bucket and a net, and you’re in business.” Looming tensions in Maritime eel fishery
Commercial harvesters of baby eels in the Maritimes say there’s little hope the poaching and violence that forced the closure of the lucrative fishery last season will subside in 2024. The federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans closed the fishery for the tiny, translucent fish known as elvers on April 15 after reports of violence related to unauthorized fishing. There were accusations of assault and even shots fired along coastal rivers in parts of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. The increased illegal activity comes as demand grows for the young eels, which are sold live to aquaculture operations in Asian markets such as China and Japan, where they are grown for food. Prices had reached as high as $5,000 per kilogram in 2022, partly because sources for the fish species in Europe and Asia had begun to dry up. more, >>click to read<< 06:02
Tonnes of elvers were poached in 2023, but border agents didn’t find any
The disclosure came from Daniel Anson, the agency’s director of general intelligence and investigations, during a recent appearance before the standing Fisheries and Oceans Canada parliamentary committee examining illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing. “We have not had any seizures of elver eels this specific year. We have effected a variety of different examinations to ensure compliance and have not found anything that was illicit or destined abroad that had been harvested illegally or the result of unreported fishing,” Anson testified last week. That was greeted with scorn by one Nova Scotia MP. Elvers are Canada’s most valuable seafood species by weight, fetching up to $5,000 per kilogram. more, >>click to read<< 11:53
Baby eels remain one of America’s most valuable fish after strong year in Maine
Baby eels, called elvers, are often worth more than $2,000 per pound because of how valuable they are to Asian aquaculture companies. That makes them one of the most valuable fish species in the U.S. They’re raised to maturity so they can be used in Japanese food, some of which is sold in the U.S. in unagi dishes at sushi restaurants. The elvers have again been worth more than $2,000 per pound at the docks this year, according to the Maine Department of Marine Resources. South Carolina is the only other state in the country with a fishing industry for baby eels, and that state’s fishery is much smaller. >click to read< 09:12
New Brunswick: Dispute over baby eels worth $4,900 a kilogram heads back court
Canada’s most valuable fishery per kilogram will be back before the courts in Saint John next week in a case that pits a longtime commercial licence holder against Indigenous fishers who want a piece of the elver action. On one side, the original plaintiff in the case accuses Indigenous groups of poaching the baby eels in waterways where she has exclusive rights to fish. On the other side, Indigenous groups want to exercise the right to engage in a moderate livelihood commercial fishery in their traditional territory. The court case began in April, when Holland applied for the injunction to stop Indigenous groups from fishing areas where she claims “exclusive” rights to fish, and from threatening and intimidating her workers. >click to read< 16:33
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
