Tag Archives: Maine Elver Fishermen Association
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
Maine elver fisherman dealing with lower eel prices during the coronavirus crisis
Elvers were often worth less than $200 per pound until 2011, when international sources of the eels dried up and the Maine price jumped to nearly $900 per pound. They’ve been worth more than $800 every year since, and hit a high price of more than $2,360 in 2018. Some fishermen call the elvers “wriggling gold,” but this year, the catch is only selling for about $500 per pound. Industry members are blaming concerns about the coronavirus for the plummeting prices. “We’re just going to the river and we’re going straight home,” said Julie Keene, an elver fisherman from the Lubec area. “Price is a lot less than normal. I think we’ve been greatly affected.” >click to read< 10:25
Coronavirus: Elver Season Starts, But Prices Plunge
At 8 a.m., Monday, March 30, about 30 elver fishermen were at the Pemaquid Falls town landing to claim their fishing spots for a shortened season. The elver, or glass eel, season in Maine got off to a late start because of a coronavirus-related delay from March 22 to March 30. Bristol Town Administrator Chris Hall said in a phone interview March 30 that he estimates there were at least 60 fishermen at Pemaquid Falls on opening day last year. The price of elvers has dropped significantly this year, from more than $2,000 per pound in 2019 to $500 per pound, the lowest starting price since 2010. This is down from a price of $2,700-$2,800 at the start of the 2018 season, the highest ever seen in Maine’s elver fishery. photo galley, >click to read< 18:51
Maine’s first elver eel season with new controls going well
Maine’s baby eel fishermen are enjoying a steady harvest and strong prices during the first season in which regulators are using new controls to stop poaching .,,, “For the guys who want to do the right thing and grow this fishery, they’re happy to comply,” said Jeffrey Pierce, a former state legislator who is an adviser to the Maine Elver Fishermen Association.,,, Fishermen are more than 90% of the way through their quota for the year, which is slightly less than 10,000 pounds (4,536 kilograms). The average price is more than $2,000 per pound, which would be the third highest average on record if holds,,, >click to read<18:33
Maine fisheries groups support DMR Commissioner Keliher
In what must be a first in modern history, virtually every commercial fishing organization in Maine joined together to urge Governor-elect Janet Mills to keep Patrick Keliher on the job as commissioner of Marine Resources after she takes office in January. First reported in the Maine Lobstermen’s Association’s Landings, shortly after the election, the MLA, Downeast Lobstermen’s Association, Maine Coast Fishermen’s Association, Maine Aquaculture Association, Alewife Harvesters of Maine, Maine Elver Fishermen Association and the Independent Maine Marine Worm Harvesters Association signed a letter to Mills voicing the organizations’ unanimous support for the current DMR commissioner. >click to read<18:08
Elver prices soar to new heights amid shortage, Asian demand, state expects a strong year.
The price of baby eels in Maine is soaring to record highs at the start of a season in which buyers expect to pay more for the valuable fish.,, Fishermen in Maine, which has the only significant elver fishery in the U.S., are poised for high prices this year because of a poor harvest in Asia. The early part of Maine’s season has been held back somewhat by bad weather, but harvesters are looking forward to a good year, said Darrell Young, co-director of the Maine Elver Fishermen Association. >click to read< 09:55
Elver fishermen unite as tribes agree to new rules
Last year, Maine fishermen harvested elvers worth more than $11.4 million from the state’s streams and rivers. That made the fishery for the tiny, translucent juvenile eels the fourth most valuable in the state, but it still wasn’t a good year. A cold, dry spring delayed the migration of elvers from the sea into the rivers where harvesters set their gear. As a result, Maine fishermen landed just 5,259 pounds of the tiny wrigglers, little more than half the 9,688-pound quota allocated the state by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission. When the Maine Elver Fishermen Association gathered for its annual meeting Saturday morning, harvesters received some good news from Department of Marine Resources Commissioner Patrick Keliher and former MEFA Executive Director Jeffrey Pierce. Read the article here 09:42
Maine Elver fishermen report ‘horrible’ season
The 2015 elver fishing season has come to a disappointing end, local fishermen say. “Horrible,” fisherman Abden Simmons described it. “I don’t think I’ve caught half of what my quota was.” “Normally we have an eight-week season, but this year we had a four-week season,” Darrel Young, head of the Maine Elver Fishermen Association, said. The season actually began March 22, but Young didn’t catch his first elvers until May 3. Prices per pound of elvers ranged throughout the season from under $1,000 to a high of $2,700, Read the rest here 15:04
