BANGOR, Maine — April 4, 2013 — For much of the past week, state officials and Passamaquoddy Tribe members have clashed over enforcement of state laws during the season that recently opened.
At issue is how many licenses the tribe, based in Washington County, is allowed to issue to its members. After meetings Wednesday, tribal and state officials said relations had improved, although they would not say what type of resolution was reached.
On Wednesday, tribal officials stressed that if the state is serious about limiting elver poaching, it should look well beyond the Passamaquoddy Tribe.
Statistics released on Thursday by the Maine Department of Marine Resources show that fishermen who are not part of the Passamaquoddy Tribe have accounted for most of the violations that Maine Marine Patrol officers have dealt with.
At the Bangor Daily News’ request, Jeff Nichols, the DMR’s communications director, collected data from the state’s two marine patrol divisions. The data include violations that resulted in summonses between the season’s opening on March 22 and Wednesday, April 3.
Read the full story at the Bangor Daily News