Mainers now have a chance to apply for one of 16 new licenses for the state’s lucrative elver fishing industry.
The tiny baby eels, which are often worth more than $2,000 per pound, are harvested from Maine rivers and streams.
The Maine Department of Marine Resources will hold a lottery, starting at 10 a.m. Thursday for the right to apply for an elver license.
The lottery will be available through 4:30 p.m. on March 4.
The upcoming season starts at noon on March 22 and runs through noon on June 7, 2024.
Officials said the lottery is available to Mainers who are at least 15 years of age by the start of the 2024 season, and who are eligible to purchase an elver license in 2024 because they have not had their right to obtain an elver license suspended.
At the time the lottery was established, the Maine Legislature capped state-issued licenses at 425. The newly available licenses are the result of those that were not renewed in 2022 and 2023.
Each new license holder will receive a minimum of four pounds of quota, which is made available from individual quota associated with licenses that were not renewed.
Individuals can enter the lottery online.
The Department of Marine Resources isn’t accepting applications sent by mail. Applicants may come to the department’s offices at 32 Blossom Lane in Augusta to complete the application on paper.
Offices will be open from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays.
Paper applications and a secure drop box for submitting applications will be available in the entryway to the Department of Marine Resources’ offices on Wednesdays and Fridays.
Payment for anyone wishing to submit paper applications at the office must be made with check or money order. Payment for online applications must be made with a credit card or a debit card.
By law, the Department of Marine Resources said each individual will be allowed to submit up to five applications at a cost of $35 per application.
Those who submit applications online will incur an additional processing fee of $2 per application.
The $25 of the application fee will be deposited in the Eel and Elver Management Fund, which is used to research and manage the state’s eel and elver resources, to enforce laws related to eels and elvers and to cover the costs associated with determining eligibility for elver fishing licenses.
By law, $10 is provided to the department to fund its costs associated with administering the lottery.
Anyone with questions about the lottery can contact the Department of Marine Resources at 207-624-6550, option 2.
