BANGOR, Maine - Maine's elver harvest has ended, valued at more than $13 million. The season that ended today netted the third highest value in the history of the fishery.
"We came very close to reaching the overall state quota within just a few hundred pounds," says Jeff Nichols, of Maine's Department of Marine Resources.
Nichols says fishermen left just 358 pounds in the water. That's in stark contrast to the year before, where thousands of pounds went unharvested.
Nine-hundred-eighty-two fishermen participated, with an average per pound value of a little more than $1,400 for the baby eels. Nichols says new regulations that opened more fishing opportunity, and that better tracked individual landings, coupled with a warmer, wetter season contributed to fishing success.
For next year, Nichols says, the 9,688 pound quota will remain the same. "Beyond that, the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission will determine whether or not the quota is going to be adjusted."
Nichols says the commission will guage how well Maine is managing the lucrative eel harvest.
The season starts up again on March 22, 2017.
