April 7, 2021 — The elver season is already underway, but it likely won’t heat up in earnest until temperatures ratchet up a few more degrees.
“People ain’t catching a whole lot right now,” said Ellsworth-based Darrell Young, the co-director of the Maine Elver Fishermen’s Association.
The multimillion-dollar fishery opened on March 22, but local fishermen have reported little action while waiting for waters to warm up.
They chalk the delay up to recent rains, which have kept the waters cool and flows fast, less than ideal conditions for the small spaghetti-like young eels that migrate upriver from the sea.
As of April 1, a total of 315 pounds of the state’s 7,556-pound quota had been caught, according to the state Department of Marine Resources, though the agency cautioned that those figures were “extremely preliminary.”
The Passamaquoddy Tribe fared better, catching 716 pounds of the tribe’s 1,288-pound quota, according to the DMR report.
The elver season runs through June 7, or until the quota is met.