OTTAWA — The federal fisheries minister says the lucrative elver fishery will remain closed for the 2024 season.
Diane Lebouthillier states that confrontations and instances of violence have posed an “immediate threat” to public safety and the management of the fishery.
She also highlights the importance of conserving the American eel.
Elvers are juvenile, transparent eels that migrate up coastal rivers in the Maritimes during the spring, where they are easily captured in nets or buckets.
The government announces that fisheries officers will enforce the prohibition and are actively patrolling rivers, facilities, and export points to prevent unauthorized harvesting, selling, and exporting.
Last week, officers apprehended five individuals for unauthorized elver harvesting.
In a statement on Monday, Lebouthillier expressed concerns about the “significant quantities of elvers being illegally fished, putting the species conservation at risk.”
Elvers are commonly sold alive to aquaculture operations in China and Japan, where they are cultivated for consumption, with prices reaching up to $5,000 per kilogram in 2022.
The species was classified as threatened in 2012 by the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada.
Lebouthillier highlighted “a series of confrontations and violence incidents posing an immediate threat to the fishery management and public safety” on Monday.
Following reports of violence related to unauthorized fishing, assaults, and even gunshots fired, the federal government closed the fishery on April 15 last year.
Lebouthillier previously suggested that issues with the fishery could be addressed through new regulations governing Indigenous fishers, licensing, exporting, and the monitoring of legally caught eels, but these measures will not be implemented before the 2024 season.
This report by The Canadian Press was originally published on March 11, 2024.
Anja Karadeglija, The Canadian Press
