5 people from Maine arrested during DFO elver fishery patrol in Nova Scotia

Federal fisheries officers patrolling for unauthorized elver fishing arrested five people from Maine last weekend in southwest Nova Scotia, adding to the evidence that groups from outside the province have flocked to local rivers to catch the lucrative juvenile eels.

The Department of Fisheries and Oceans said in a news release Wednesday officers seized nearly 3½ kilograms of elvers during the arrests in the Meteghan area of Digby County, along with a vehicle and four nets. The department did not say if those arrested would be charged.

The department said it also seized another 13 kilograms of elvers at the same location, but that seizure was unrelated to the arrests. All the elvers were returned to the river, it said.

DFO has arrested dozens of people since the federal fisheries minister ordered the cancelation of the spring elver season last month, citing conservation concerns and increased violence as unauthorized fishing surges due to demand from Asia, where the eels are raised for food.

Stanley King, a commercial licence holder with Atlantic Elver Fishery, said people from Maine have been coming to Nova Scotia to illegaly fish for elvers, but to his knowledge this is the first time someone from the U.S. has been arrested.

Maine has its own regulated elver fishery, with the state capping the number of licences and setting quotas.

"If you don't have a licence, or you've caught all you're allotted, I'm sure these people, who have no respect for the law, are looking for other places to ply their trade," King said in an interview.

Despite Fisheries Minister Diane Lebouthillier shutting down the elver season this year before it even got underway, unauthorized harvesting has continued.

In Nova Scotia, some Mi'kmaq have claimed a treaty right to fish for elvers outside federal regulations, although others have voiced concerns about the industry and worry about the health of the species.

King said there's Indigenous people from Maine claiming a right to catch elvers along Nova Scotia rivers, but there's others from the U.S. with no Indigenous background who are simply taking advantage of what he calls poor DFO enforcement in the past.

Enforcement

The department has stepped up enforcement efforts this year and said it has tallied a total of 95 arrests and seized 21 vehicles, more than 73 kilograms of elvers and 233 nets. 

Arrests related to "illegal poaching" are welcomed by Conservative MP Rick Perkins, who represents the federal riding of South Shore—St. Margarets. He said for too long the federal government has ignored the "lawlessness" that's developed in the industry.

But while DFO is "bragging" about its arrest numbers this year, he said he wants those people to be charged and prosecuted, and is concerned with reports that many are simply issued warnings.

He said it's easy to recognize that Americans have been fishing for elvers in Nova Scotia — just look at the licence plates of the vehicles along provincial rivers.

"They flaunt the law," he said in an interview. "They're very vocal on Facebook about what they're doing and how they're breaking the law."

A DFO spokesperson said Wednesday the department would not release more information beyond a news release announcing the arrests.

Nova Scotia MP Mike Kelloway, the parliamentary secretary to the minister of fisheries, was asked Thursday if people arrested by the department are being charged and prosecuted.

"That's the hope and expectation of us, but I would leave that to, you know, law enforcement and the judicial arm to be able to follow through on that," Kelloway said.

Earlier this year, some commercial elver licence holders claimed DFO officials had told them the Public Prosecution Service of Canada would not charge Mi'kmaq accused of illegal harvesting because of uncertainty over treaty rights.

Prosecution spokesperson Nathalie Houle said in February there was no such policy, and that decisions to prosecute are based on factors such as the prospect of conviction, including what defences are available, and if it is in the public interest.