Lucrative elver harvest sparks turf war, fishery concerns
A turf war has erupted between the Passamaquoddy tribe and state fisheries regulators just a week into the harvesting season for the high-priced translucent baby eels known as elvers.
The Bangor Daily News reported that officers from the state's Department of Marine Resources confiscated fishing nets from three tribal fishermen, who claim that a state law setting limits on how many permits may be issued for fishing on tribal land is invalid.
That claim has drawn ire from fishery regulators as well as the governor's office. The Portland Press Herald reported tribal council spokesman Newell Lewey said in a conference call Monday with Gov. Paul LePage that the state does not have authority over licensing, catch limits and enforcement for tribal fishermen.
Earlier this year, the tribe issued 575 permits to harvest elvers while a state law passed March 21 specifies that the tribe should issue only 150 tribal permits for use anywhere in the state and 50 dip-net permits for use on the St. Croix River. DMR officials are pursuing any fishermen with permits with a number higher than 150.
Regulators say that the additional permits put the fishery and state management practices in jeopardy, while tribal officials say their own management practices — including an overall catch limit rather than a limit on licenses — are sound.
The concern over the health of that fishery -- now the state's second most lucrative after lobster -- has driven a group of elver fishermen to form an advocacy group to represent their interests in Augusta.
The Bangor Daily News reported that a group of about 50 elver fishermen met for the first time last week and plan to attend three upcoming Maine meetings of the Atlantic State Marine Fisheries Commission next month on fishery management for American eels.
The fishery brought in an estimated $38 million in 2012, according to the DMR. The paper reported fishermen are getting prices of between $1,700 and $2,000 per pound, so far, during this year's 10-week elver season.
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