Eel Regs Move to Quota System

by Fishermen’s Voice Staff

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) voted in February to institute a quota system in the Maine eel fishery. Maine is only one of two states with a glass eel fishery, the other is South Carolina. The eel fishery has been experiencing increased harvest levels as the price paid for glass eels has soared. The tsunami damaged Japanese eel fishery and industry has created increased demand for grow out stock from other parts of the world.

Some other Atlantic states have active adult yellow eel fisheries, but not Maine. The ASMFC had declared the American eel a depleted stock, a declaration that demands specific regulatory actions.

As a part of Addendum 3 on American Eels, license and gear caps will be replaced with amquota system, which when reached the fishery will be shut down. Fishermen will be expected to use a reporting system that will be used to monitor harvest and and trigger a shut down when the quota is reached.

At the spring meeting of the ASMFC the draft of Addendum 4 will be considered. Harvest reductions of 25% to 40% are expected. The depleted status of the stock across it's Atlantic states region threatens the eel fisheries equally. However, habitats vary from state to state.

The executive summary of Addendum 3 refers to the 2012 benchmark which described the stock as being at an historic low citing causes such as habitat loss, altered food web, predation, power generating turbines, climate change, toxins and water contamination. Maine has a large number of rivers and many are in better shape than those in some of the other more industrialized Atlantic states.

An accurate description of harvest size is one of the goals of a quota system.

Addendum 4 discussions are expected to focus on the glass eel. There are eel fisheries in all the Atlantic states except Pennsylvania and Washington, DC. States with adult eel fisheries have active domestic and export markets. Eel is a popular food in Europe and Asian countries.

The quota system is one part of a program to monitor American eel stocks and harvests. Several mechanisms are being developed to control the resource.