Ottawa has increased the allowable catch for juvenile eels by 22 per cent this year, citing evidence of a healthy population and the success of last year’s relatively peaceful season in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. The fishery for young American eels, known as elvers, was shut down in 2024 after illegal fishing driven by soaring prices led to violence and arrests on many rivers. Last year, the federal Fisheries Department announced new possession and export regulations aimed at improving management of the fishery, which saw buyers paying as much as $5,000 per kilogram a few years ago. As well, Ottawa confirmed in 2025 that 50 per cent of the allowable catch would be redistributed from non-Indigenous commercial fishers to First Nations entering the fishery for the first time to…
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