Eight years after a federal investigation began with undercover fisheries enforcement officers gathering evidence on a wildlife trafficking scheme, the last two of 21 men charged with poaching baby eels were sentenced this week in New Jersey. Read More
For two consecutive years, Maine baby eel fishermen have netted more than $20 million statewide and earned an average price of more than $2,000 per pound. Read More
Four Maine residents were arrested in Massachusetts on Saturday after police allegedly found them in a vehicle with undersized glass eels, heroin, crack cocaine and ammunition. Read More
Fishermen hope again to be paid more than $2,000 per pound for the baby eels that swim into their nets this spring, but some things will be different for the licensed dealers who buy them. Read More
Illegal sales of baby eels that caused last year’s abrupt closure of Maine’s elver fishery have resulted in criminal charges for two baby eel dealers and new rules from the state proposing closer oversight of the lucrative fishery. Read More
The Waldoboro Planning Board signed off on an entrepreneur’s plan to build a 27,000-square-foot facility for her eel aquaculture business at the Waldoboro Business Park. Read More
The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission is considering whether to raise the state’s baby eel quota, also known as elvers, from 9,688 pounds to 11,749 pounds. Read More
William “Bill” Sheldon, of Woolwich, is scheduled to appear in U.S. District Court in Portland to be sentenced for violating the federal Lacey Act by trafficking in poached baby eels, also known as elvers. Read More
With the average price remaining above $2,300 per pound since opening day on March 22, the value of the statewide catch so far was $12 million as of Thursday evening. Read More
Baby eels swim to shore each spring after being born far out in the Atlantic Ocean, following the spring thaw, which means they usually don’t appear in Maine until the snow cover has melted. Read More
Joseph Kelley of Woolwich and James Lewis of West Bath are charged with conspiracy to violate the Lacey Act, two counts of violation of the Lacey Act and smuggling. Read More
Robert “Eddy” Bowdoin of Hyannis, Massachusetts, pleaded guilty last June to selling a total of approximately 183 pounds of poached baby eels. Read More
Two men charged in federal court in Maine for their role in an East Coast eel trafficking operation each were sentenced Thursday to six months behind bars. Read More
Tommy Water Zhou, 43, of Brooklyn, has until Dec. 18 to turn himself in and begin serving his sentence, according to federal court documents. Read More
