ELLSWORTH, Maine — May 2, 2014 — The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service is conducting a criminal investigation into the American eel fishery along the East Coast, including in Maine, federal officials confirmed Friday.
Law enforcement officials with the federal agency, along with others from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and Maine Marine Patrol, were in Ellsworth early Thursday morning as part of the investigation, according to fishermen and local officials.
Details about the investigation have not been made public.
Catherine J. Hibbard, spokesperson for the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, said Friday that the agency is conducting an investigation into alleged “illegal trade” of American eels. Elvers are baby American eels that are caught live in Maine’s coastal waterways each spring. Maine and South Carolina are the only two states on the East Coast where elver fishing is allowed, and Maine’s fishery is much larger than South Carolina’s.
Fishing for adult eels is permitted in Maine and other states along the East Coast.
“The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and state wildlife enforcement agencies conducted searches at several locations along the East Coast Wednesday and Thursday from South Carolina to Maine as part of an ongoing investigation,” she said Friday in an email.
Read the full story at the Bangor Daily News