Maine Elver Season to Start April 6

PR March 19 The 2014 elver fishing season will begin Sunday, April 6, 2014 at noon. Originally scheduled to begin on March 22, 2014, the season opening has been delayed due to deliberations over the two bills impacting the fishery, LD 1723 signed into law March 13, and LD 1625, signed into law March 18.

The additional time is required by the Department of Marine Resources to implement necessary emergency rulemaking to allocate individual fishing quotas to Maine’s non-tribal elver harvesters, to obtain information from Maine’s federally recognized Indian tribes necessary for allocation of individual fishing quota to licensed tribal members, and to distribute new elver transaction cards.

LD 1723 established the elver transaction “swipe” card system used by each harvester. Data will be uploaded to a secure database and monitored by the Department to ensure the state does not exceed its quota of 11,749 pounds.

Of the 11,749 lbs, Marine Resources Commissioner has chosen to withhold 5 percent rather than 10% from both non-tribal and tribal allocations, which leaves a total quota for the state of 11,161 pounds.

The Department will be issuing each license holder a transaction card and will be providing dealers with card readers. This will require a minimum of two weeks.

LD 1625 authorizes the Commissioner to establish, by emergency rule, an elver fishing quota for the state. The agreement with he ASMFC established a quota for Maine during the 2014 season that is 35 percent less than the 2013 season dealer-reported landings, which totaled 18,076 pounds.

LD 1625, 21.9 percent of the overall annual quota will be allocated to Maine’s federally recognized Indian tribes. Five percent will be withheld from each tribe’s allocation as a buffer.

The remaining 79.1 percent of the overall annual quota will be allocated to 436 non-tribal eligible license holders based on calculations currently under consideration by the Commissioner.

The season will end May 31, 2014 or prior to that date if the state’s overall quota is reached.