A new pilot project could be coming for elver fishers.
DFO is proposing a quota redistribution to allow 120 fishers who are currently part of a company to have their own licence.
They sent a letter to harvesters on October 15, seeking feedback by November 4.
The changes would also give 30 adult eel licence holders the chance to give up their current licence and join the elver fishery.
The baby eel fishery has been plagued by poaching and violence on rivers, and did not open in 2024.
Provincial Fisheries Minister Kent Smith says the fishery is important to Nova Scotians.
“What I would like to see is better enforcement of the fishery from DFO. We’ve seen it in southwest Nova Scotia where they aren’t enforcing the illegal lobster fishing, and we’ve seen problems with the elver fishery the last two years being shut down,” said Smith.
He says he hopes the pilot project can lead to stability, but he’s not overly optimistic.
Stanley King of the company Atlantic Elver Fishery calls it a misguided attempt to compensate employees at the expense of license holders.
He says it’s ‘incredibly bad news’ for the industry.
King adds that DFO once again expects license holders to bear all of the cost while the government contributes nothing, and it will cripple businesses.
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