Federal regulators will meet to propose options for Maine’s forthcoming baby eel season.
A spokeswoman says the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s American Eel Working Group will craft the options on Monday. A management board’s vote on the recommendations could happen at an Oct. 27 meeting.
Federal officials have said the rules for the next elver season could range from keeping the status quo of a nearly 6-ton quota to closing the fishery.
Maine’s elver fishermen last season caught about 10,000 pounds of the baby eels while facing a quota of 11,749 pounds. This was the first year in which a quota applied. The fishermen’s catch topped 18,000 pounds in 2012 and 2013, sparking fears about overfishing.
This year’s elver season began April 6 and ended May 31.
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