PORTLAND, Maine — December 14, 2013 — The Maine Department of Marine Resources is moving forward with plans to slash the lucrative glass eel catch, with one more public hearing before rules are drafted to cut the fishery by up to 40 percent.
Industry officials supported quotas based on historical catches during the first public hearing hosted by state regulators this week in Augusta. Another hearing will be held Jan. 2 in Brewer.
Fishermen are frustrated by the cuts, which will be in place when the season opens in March.
“We’re being led down the road by bad science,’’ said Jeffrey Pierce, executive director of the Maine Elver Fishermen’s Association. “It’s a data-poor species, so the scientists would rather err on the side of caution. That’s because they get paid and we don’t. They get a check every week. We only get paid if we catch something.”
Elvers, as the baby eels are known, have come under scrutiny since prices ballooned to $2,000 and more per pound in recent years. They are caught in Maine rivers and exported to Asia.
Read the full story from the Associated Press at The Boston Globe