April 28, 2013 — Competition for elvers is fierce, and so far the season has already produced a flurry of new developments, from the largest illegal-possession case on record and an unusual strain in relations between the state and the Passamaquoddy Tribe over licensing. Even the licensed fishermen have weighed in, with 50 last month forming the first Maine advocacy association for the fishery.
At just after midnight early Thursday from a bridge over the Presumpscot River in Falmouth, the shoreline seemed to be strung with the soft, cold light of fireflies or the flickering flames of candles, magical in the half-dark, lit by a full moon.
But those lights were actually evidence of men at work. Each marked a spot where an elver fisherman was dip-netting for the baby eels that constitute one of the most valuable — and violated — fisheries going right now: elvers.
Ticketed violations are down compared with the same period last year — a fact that might seem surprising, given the fascination with the fishery and battles over licensing. From March 1 to April 19, 2012, 158 summonses were handed out by Maine Marine Patrol officers. During the same period this year, that number dropped to 103.
The reduction is probably the result of a number of factors, said Jeff Nichols, a spokesman for the Maine Department of Marine Resources. Greater public and media interest, along with strict enforcement and now criminal penalties, have also likely left some poachers more wary of being noticed. And the elver season in some coastal areas has been slower to start this spring, he said.
The intense interest in the fishery this year is occurring simultaneously with the rising tide of federal attention. The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission, which has management jurisdiction over most fisheries in waters shared by states, is gathering public comments in New England and along the East Coast on proposed changes to the Interstate Fishery Management Plan for American eel. A meeting is set for 1 to 5 p.m. Tuesday at the Augusta Armory.
Read the full story at the Portland Press Herald