A regional regulatory board has voted to keep Maine’s elver fishery open next year as long as Maine officials craft a plan to cut the catch by at least 25%.
The Associated Press reported the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s eel management board decided to postpone new eel fishery regulations set to take effect in 2014 in favor of allowing the state to take measures to reduce the catch between 25% to 40% next spring.
The 10-week elver season has become the second-most lucrative in the state in recent years as prices for the baby eels have soared over $2,000 per pound.
