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	Podcast:		Maine Things Considered
	Episode:		Maine Ends Lucrative Baby Eel Fishing Season Early
	Category:		Government & Organizations
	Duration:		00:02:06
	Publish Date:		2018-05-24 04:58:18
	Description:		State officials are shutting down the Maine elver season early, citing illegal sales of the valuable "glass" eels coveted by Asian aquaculture businesses. The Department of Marine Resources (DMR) says a Marine Patrol investigation found some elver dealers paid cash to licensed harvesters without registering the eel sales through the state's official swipe card system, and they did so at prices less than those for properly tracked eels. "You have to assume there's some greed involved here," says DMR spokesperson Jeff Nichols. “This investigation shows us that the swipe card system is clearly something that some people in this industry have found a way around, and unfortunately for everyone with a stake in this fishery, it undermines the ability to maintain the fishery," he says. Harvesting and selling eels off-the-books could allow some licensees to exceed their individual quotas. And DMR says given illegal sales, the state has probably exceeded its overall 9,600 pound quota for the
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