Eels won’t be listed under Endangered Species Act
Federal wildlife officials announced Wednesday that eels won’t be listed for protection under the Endangered Species Act, a move that could have resulted in Maine’s lucrative elver fishery being shut down.
The Bangor Daily News reported Wednesday that the U.S Fish and Wildlife Service has been reviewing whether to list the eels under the federal environmental law since 2011. The federal agency said in a statement that eels are one of the 17 species that will not be listed for protection.
Global demand for baby eels, or elvers, has increased in the past five years. In Maine, the value of the elver harvest jumped from about half a million dollars in 2010 to $40 million in 2012, the BDN reported. In 2015, the landing value was $11.39 million.
Besides Maine, South Carolina is the only other state that permits elver fishing. In 2012, the Atlantic State Marine Fisheries Commission determined that the eels’ population in American waters was depleted.
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