A new law extends the highly profitable elver season, which begins March 22, from May 31 to June 7 and allows fishing every day of the week, the Ellsworth American reported. Under the prior law, the fishery was closed on weekends as a conservation measure.
The law addresses the challenge of the 2015 season, when a cold, dry spring delayed the migration of elvers from the sea into rivers where harvesters set their gear, resulting in landings of just 5,259 pounds — much less than the 9,688-pound quota allocated to fishermen. The situation was not inconsequential to fishermen, given the fact that elvers were worth $2,171 per pound.
At its annual meeting on March 5, the Maine Elver Fishermen Association also voted to merge their organization with the Pennsylvania-based American Eel Sustainability Association, the paper reported. AESA, in addition to representing the elver fishery, represents the interests of harvesters of mature eels.
According to Mitchell Feigenbaum, a Pennsylvania-based eel and elver buyer and director of the AESA, a merger with MEFA would give harvesters a louder voice in the regulatory process.
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A wild fishery tamed: Maine elvers are in demand in Asia, but quotas limit catch
