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Elver Conservation Proposals Meet Maine Industry's Resistance

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Creative Commons

An analysis by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission finds that American eel stocks are being depleted.  The group was in the state today, taking testimony on ways to preserve the species over the long term. But Elver fishermen and dealers say strict measures like additional quotas aren't needed to protect eels along the eastern seaboard.

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission began collecting data from Florida to Maine for its first stock assessment of the American eel in 2006. There's not a lot of good information on the eel, known as Anguilla Rostrata, compared to other marine species.

But by 2012, the commission said there was enough to determine that the population on the East Coast was being depleted through a combination of habitat loss, over fishing, deadly hydroelectric turbines and several other factors.

And in response, the commission began work on a plan "to help conserve American eels and reduce mortality across all life stages," says Kate Taylor, who's coordinating the conservation effort for the commission.

Taylor says initial steps included prohibiting commercial or recreational fishermen from catching eels that are less than 9 inches long. Taylor says the efforts began around the same time that concern over the condition of the species made its way to Washington.

"There is a current petition to list the American eel under the Endangered Species Act," she says. "U.S. Fish and Wildlife will be presenting their findings on the petition in September of 2015."

The deliberations at U.S. Fish and Wildlife will play out on their own track - separate from what's happening at the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission. Still, it didn't take long for fears to surface at Monday's hearing that the American eel fishery could eventually be shut down altogether.

Under pressure from the commission, Maine put tight restrictions in place for this year's glass eel season. The catch limit for juveniles was dropped to just under 12,000 pounds. Fishermen received individual quotas. And fishermen and elver dealers had to begin using a swipe card system to track landings.

"You guys are all businessmen and so forth, but when you fish on the river, you get to see what is actually there because you're out looking at it," said Steve Staples, who fishes for glass eels on the Kennebec River.

Staples questions the premise that the species is being over fished. "You know, there isn't even a net in the water, when there's thousands of pounds going up these rivers," he said. "We're just a small increment in this whole equation. I've earned my license and I'd like to continue to do it in future years. And 3,000 pounds - that might as well take it away from us."

A quota of just over 3,000 pounds, based on 2010 landings numbers, is just one of many additional conservation measures being considered by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission. Two other quota options would reduce the catch to just over 6,000 pounds and 8000 pounds, respectively.

Also under consideration are an immediate or delayed closure of the fishery, and the so-called status quo option, which in Maine basically means continuing the policies now in place.

"We oppose option 7 vigorously," said Mitchell Feigenbaum, who supports Maine's new quota and swipe card systems.

But option 7 would give the commission the right to send a percentage of the annual glass eel catch in Maine and South Carolina to aquaculture experiments in other states. Feigenbaum runs both the American Eel Sustainability Association and Delaware Valley Fish Company, one of the state's big elver buyers.

"We believe there's no biological justification for that. There's no socioeconomic justification for that," Feigenbaum said. "There's only political justifications for that and those are not justifications."

As Feigenbaum spoke, a man leaned against a desk in the back of the room listening. Pat Keliher, Maine's Marine Resources Commissioner, is a member of the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission.

"I think fishermen understand that we needed to put in place the quota system we had last year," Keliher says. "And I think because it worked so well, their hopes is that the commission will recognize that and be able to maintain status quo for this fishery going forward."

Keliher also hopes the commission reaches this conclusion. He says it's clear the American eel fishery is depleted. But data on the species, he says, is poor at best. He says recent strong elver seasons in Maine may be a sign that any decline has stopped and that American eels are beginning to reappear in larger numbers.