YORK – A Rockland man was summonsed on the Maine Turnpike earlier this week for illegal possession of $22,100 worth of elvers.
Dale A. Boyington, 36, was pulled over by a Marine Patrol officers who were conducting surveillance at the York toll booth, according to a new release.
According to the patrol, Boyington was pulled over near the Kennebunk exit in a rental truck with 11 pounds of elvers and equipment for harvesting and transporting the juvenile eels. The eels, equipment, truck and cash were all seized as evidence, the Marine Patrol office said.
Illegal possession of elvers is currently a civil crime punishable by a fine up to $2,000. Emergency legislation to make it a criminal violation has passed the Maine Legislature and is expected to be signed by Gov. Paul LePage in a few days.
Boyington is scheduled to appear in Biddeford District Court on June 5.
Jeff Nichols, a spokesman for Department of Marine Resources, didn’t immediately return a phone call seeking more details.
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