Tag Archives: Maine Elver Fishermen’s Association
Fishing regulators say no to catching more elvers, a most valuable species
The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission needs to set a new quota for next year and beyond because the current management plan is expiring. The commission said Monday its only considering one option for next year’s limit and that is a little less than 10,000 pounds, the same level fishermen have been allowed to catch for several years. The commission is under pressure from fishermen who want the quota raised and from environmentalists who would like to see it reduced. Fishermen who have advocated for removing dams are good stewards of the elvers, said Darrell Young, president of the Maine Elver Fishermen’s Association. Many fishermen run through their quota in just a few days, he said. more, >>click to read<< 20:46
Maine baby eel harvest on pace to hit record value under catch limits
Halfway through the 2018 fishing season for baby eels, the value of landings in Maine is on track to reach its highest annual total since a statewide catch limit was imposed four years ago. With the average price remaining above $2,300 per pound since opening day on March 22, the value of the statewide catch so far was $12 million as of Thursday evening. That’s just $130,000 shy of the catch value for all of 2017. It represents 4,600 pounds caught statewide since the season started, meaning fishermen have not yet reached the halfway point of Maine’s overall annual catch limit of 9,688 pounds. >click to read<10:24
Price offered for Maine’s baby eels hits record high
Strong demand for baby eels from Maine, spurred by poor winter harvests elsewhere around the globe, has driven prices in the opening days of the state’s annual fishing season to unprecedented heights. The average price offered to fishermen for their baby eels, also known as elvers, since the season began at noon last Thursday is between $2,700 and $2,800 per pound, according to Maine Department of Marine Resources. That’s the highest average price range ever reported by the state agency and more than double the $1,302 per pound that Maine fishermen averaged over the course of the 2017 season. >click to read<09:07
As eels grow in value, US government clamps down on poaching
Law enforcement authorities have launched a crackdown on unlicensed eel fishermen and illicit sales along the East Coast.,, In Maine, more than 400 licensed fishermen make their living fishing for elvers in rivers such as the Penobscot in Brewer and the Passagassawakeag in Belfast every spring. They say law enforcement is vital to protecting the eels and the volatile industry. Randy Bushey, of Steuben, has been fishing for elvers since 1993. He said he saw his income balloon from as little as $5,000 per year in the 1990s to more than $350,000 in 2012. He said tighter quotas mean he’s earning less these days, and in the most recent season he made about $57,000. “I’ve seen the best, and I’ve seen the worst,” Steuben said. “I want to see it preserved. I want to see it straightened out.” click here to read the story 08:16
Decision Soon on Listing Eels Under Endangered Species Act
An environmental advocacy group wants the federal government to list the American eel as threatened, giving the fish protections that would greatly limit fishermen’s ability to pursue and catch them. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s decision about protecting the eels will likely come toward the end of September, said Steven Shepard, a spokesman for the agency. Only Maine and South Carolina fishermen harvest elvers, and South Carolina’s fishery is much smaller. Several other states have fisheries for older eels, including Maryland, Virginia and Delaware. Darrell Young, who co-directs the Maine Elver Fishermen’s Association and has fished for elvers for more than 20 years, said,,, Read the rest here 16:20
Asian demand, low supply set record price on Maine baby eels
Prices for tiny glass eels caught in river inlets along the Maine coast soared to record levels this year because a slow season resulted in reduced catch, fishermen and dealers say. The baby eels called elvers sold for $2,500 or more per pound at times this season due to low supply, fishermen and dealers say, beating the old record of $1,868.73 in 2012. This year’s average price, which the state has not yet calculated, seems sure to dwarf last year’s and possibly eclipse 2012, fishermen said. Read the rest here 12:50
Maine elver fishing quota may be slightly reduced – Department of Marine Resources is advocating for status quo
Maine elver fishermen will oppose the quota cut at the meeting, said Jeffrey Pierce, director of the Maine Elver Fishermen’s Association. “They can’t keep cutting it every year. Our markets need to know there is stability they can count on,” Pierce said. Read the rest here 06:58
Panel endorses changes to tribal elver bill, deal ‘pretty much gone,’ says tribe
AUGUSTA, Maine — Changes that a legislative panel made Wednesday to a tentative agreement, state fisheries officials had made with the Passamaquoddy Tribe over elver fishing mean that the agreement is “pretty much gone,” according to a tribal official. Read more@BDN 09:15
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 Elver Fishermen’s Association founded – Elver fishermen organize to preserve the fishery
ELLSWORTH — More than 40 elver fishermen gathered at the Ellsworth Elks Club on Tuesday afternoon voted to form a new association to lobby on their behalf before federal fisheries regulators. continue reading
