HALLOWELL, Maine — April 26, 2014 — Patrick Keliher, commissioner of the state Department of Marine Resources, sits at the head of a conference table in his office in Hallowell, flanked by three marine resources officers and an assistant attorney general.
Across the table sits Sean Manning, an elver fisherman from Sullivan with red eyes, a runny nose and a devastated expression.
Keliher slides a box of tissues in Manning’s direction and asks him if he wants to say anything before the state revokes his elver fishing license.
“I don’t think the whole thing is fair at all,” Manning says, shaking his head.
“This is not targeted only at you,” Keliher says softly. “We have ongoing investigations.”
Those ongoing investigations into Maine’s lucrative yet fragile elver fishery are now coming into public view. Manning is one of five fishermen who have lost their licenses this year because the state has determined that they under-reported landings in 2013 – it says Manning reported only a third of the baby eels he netted.
Nine other fishermen have received notices of suspension and face hearings.
The number of license suspensions for fishermen in 2013? Zero.
The flurry of suspensions highlights the state’s effort to steer the multimillion-dollar elver industry from the brink of closure. For the first time, state officials and marine resources officers are scrutinizing catch records, dealers’ reports and tax returns, and penalizing fishermen for violations committed one and two years ago.
State officials say the investigations are part of a larger crackdown that’s needed to show federal regulators that Maine can oversee an industry that until recently was a lightly regulated cash business. They also hope that the publicized effort will deter illegal activity that may elude new regulations.
Read the full story from the Portland Press Herald