January 23, 2020 — Want to get rich quick, or at least have a chance to earn a nice piece of change?
Last Thursday, the Department of Marine Resources opened a lottery that will give nine lucky winners the chance to apply for elver fishing licenses for the upcoming season. The lottery runs until 4:30 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 21. The 10-week elver season starts March 22 and runs through June 7.
An elver fishing license isn’t worth its weight in gold. It’s worth a lot more.
In 2018, the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission set a total landings quota for Maine elver harvesters of 9,688 pounds. Of that, just under 2,070 pounds are allocated among Maine’s four federally recognized tribes, which issue their own fishing licenses to tribal members. DMR allocates the balance, some 7,566 pounds, among harvesters licensed by the state.