CALAIS, Maine — March 31, 2013 — Imposing a catch limit is a better way of protecting the state’s elver population than limiting the number of licenses that may be issued to fishermen, Clayton Cleaves, chief of the Passamaquoddy Tribe at Pleasant Point said Sunday at a press conference outside the Wabanaki Culture Center.
Tribal representatives said that limiting the catch to 3,600 pounds and allowing fishermen to use just one net was a better way to manage the resource than issuing a set number of licenses to tribal members.
“Fishing is part of our tradition,” Cleaves said. “It’s part of our religion.”
In a telephone interview after the press conference, Maine Department of Marine Resources Commissioner Patrick Keliher said the tribe started talking about a quota-based system “very late” for it to be implemented this year.
“Conceptually, we’re not opposed to that, but for a successful quota-based system, you have to be able to monitor the harvesters and the dealers,” he said. “They’re not in control of the dealers.”
The press conference, which drew about 100 people to the Wabanaki Culture Center, was held in response to a statement Friday by Keliher that the tribe had put the state out of compliance with fishing restrictions imposed by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission by issuing more than twice the number of elver licenses than it should have.
Keliher said that by issuing 575 licenses, the tribe has put Maine out of compliance with federal elver regulations.
“The Passamaquoddys have jeopardized this entire fishery for the entire state,” Keliher said.
Read the full story at The Bangor Daily News