The Associated Press is reporting this week that a federal decision on whether or not to have American eel listed under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) is likely to come at the end of the month. Shocking as it may sound, it’s entirely possible that the decision would prohibit angler use of live eels when targeting striped bass as of October 1.
AP reporter Patrick Whittle cited a spokesman with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Steven Shepard, as saying the agency’s decision about protecting the eels will likely come toward the end of September.
By law, should the eel be given ‘endangered’ protection under ESA, NOAA Fisheries would automatically extend ‘take’ prohibitions to restrict any actions that would “harass, harm, pursue, hunt, shoot, wound, kill, trap, capture, or collect, or to attempt to engage in any such conduct.” According to NOAA, depending on whether or not a species is listed as endangered or threatened, different take prohibitions may apply; they may also be required to designate critical habitat for the listed species.
The long anticipated decision by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service stems from a lawsuit filed in 2012 by the California-based Center for Environmental Science, Accuracy & Reliability (also known as CESAR), in seeking declaratory and injunctive relief on behalf of the American eel, which the group claims is “at substantial risk of extinction” predominantly due to habitat loss and commercial fishing pressure.
Elvers, or not-yet-pigmented juveniles (also called glass eels) are commercially harvested in Maine and South Carolina and sold overseas as seed stock for Asian aquaculture companies that raise them to maturity to sell as high-priced sushi (often resold back in U.S. markets). Maine fishermen are by far the largest supplier of elvers in the U.S. and it’s one of the most lucrative fisheries in that state. Fishermen caught 9,690 pounds of elvers in 2014 at an average price of $874.52 per pound, according to state data.
The 2015 glass eel season which began in March saw prices back up to more than $1,800 per pound in Maine, just as they were in 2012 and 2013 according to state regulators. “European eels have become nearly extinct and the eel fishery in Europe has collapsed, increasing the demand worldwide (particularly in Europe and Asia) for American eels,” CESAR states in their lawsuit. “U.S. harvests of eels have also declined greatly; nearly 64% of the long-term average since 1950 and an even steeper decline of 72% in recent decades.”
Maine elvers exploded in volume and value in the early part of the decade when foreign sources dried up. The fishery topped $40 million in 2012, eventually spurring new regulations including quotas and a swipe-card system that was designed to deter poaching by tracking catches. Despite the lawsuit, a regulatory board of the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission voted last year to allow other East Coast states to begin elver fisheries if they create an approved conservation program. States were also allowed to raise and harvest elvers for domestic aquaculture under certain conditions.
“The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) maintains a fishery management plan (FMP) for the American eel and reported in 2008 that the stock has been in decline for the past two decades and is at or near its historic low,” CESAR said in its lawsuit. “Eels are harvested at all stages in their lifecycles (except in the larva stage) and in all of their habitats.” Citing the fact that eels are harvested for aquaculture, bait and food, the organization is challenging ASMFC as not adequately protecting eels or limiting catches in all areas of their habitat.”
“CESAR believes that the regulatory agencies responsible for preserving eel populations have failed in their responsibility,” the lawsuit continues, adding “current regulations and management plans developed by government agencies have failed to halt the decline of the eel population.”
“Responsible regulatory agencies acknowledge that the eel population is declining, but have failed to maintain adequate oversight of the population and continue to allow commercial harvesting while maintaining that stock status and size are unknown,” the lawsuit contends.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service last announced that ESA listing was not warranted on eels back in 2007. In completing its previous review responding to a similar petition, the Service examined all available information about the American eel population from Greenland south along the North American coast to Brazil in South America and as far inland as the Great Lakes and the Mississippi River drainage. While the eel population has declined in some areas, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service decided that the species’ overall population is not in danger of extinction or likely to become so in the foreseeable future.
“The eel population as a whole shows significant resiliency. If we look at eels over time, we see fluctuations in the population numbers, so a decreasing number of eels right now does not necessarily forecast an irreversible trend,” according to Heather Bell, Service fishery biologist.
“Overfishing and hydropower turbines continue to impact eels in some regions, such as Lake Ontario and Chesapeake Bay, although these factors do not fully explain the reduced number of eels migrating up the St. Lawrence Seaway and into Lake Ontario.” Bell said.