BANGOR – Two baby-eel dealers are facing misdemeanor charges as Maine moves to increase oversight over the lucrative industry.
The Bangor Daily News reports that Department of Marine Resources spokesman Jeff Nichols says two Maine dealers are accused of making illegal cash purchases last spring of the eels, also known as elvers.
Both dealers face license suspensions along with misdemeanor charges for allegedly purchasing elvers without a required swipe card, which is part of an electronic monitoring system.
Nichols said the investigation into illegal sales is ongoing.
Fishery regulators have faced increased poaching and smuggling since the value of elvers jumped from an average price of $100 per pound a decade ago to over $2,300 per pound last year.
Maine’s holding public hearings on proposals to make it harder to conceal illegal cash transactions from inspectors.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
-
Sports
Golf notes: Davis Love III appointed captain again, this time for Presidents Cup
-
Sports
The Boston Marathon will be held on Oct. 11 if state officials allow road races
-
Sports
NFL notebook: Judge orders destruction of Robert Kraft massage parlor videos
-
Sports
Sports Digest: U.S. Olympic swim trials split into 2 meets because of COVID
-
Nation & World
Biden moving to advance racial equity, including end of privately run federal prisons
Success. Please wait for the page to reload. If the page does not reload within 5 seconds, please refresh the page.
Enter your email and password to access comments.
Hi {SUB NAME}, to comment on stories you must . This profile is in addition to your subscription and website login.
Already have one? .
Invalid username/password.
Please check your email to confirm and complete your registration.
Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login to participate in the conversation. Here’s why.
Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.