Legislation allows for tribal elver fishery without individual quotas

Legislation that allows the state to enter into agreements with the tribes in the state to provide for the taking of elvers without individual allocations of quota was passed unanimously in the Maine Senate and House of Representatives on March 3. The Passamaquoddy tribal councils at Indian Township and Pleasant Point each met recently to adopt a resolution supporting the measures outlined in the legislation, although there still may be a question over whether the Passamaquoddy Joint Tribal Council needs to ratify the agreement.
The Passamaquoddy Tribe and the state have been at odds over management of the fishery for the past few years, as the tribe has favored open access to the fishery with a total allowable catch, instead of individual catch quotas. Under the legislation, the marine resources commissioner may enter into agreements with any of the tribes so that they do not have to provide for individual allocations. The Passamaquoddy Tribe's quota of 1,356 pounds for 2016 would be available for all tribal license holders to fish. Each license holder would be allowed only one piece of gear, either a dip net or fyke net. However, all elvers caught by tribal license holders would have to be recorded through the state's swipe card system. When the tribe's quota has been reached, all swipe cards held by tribal license holders would be turned off.
In the absence of an agreement between the commissioner and a tribe, individual allocations of elver fishing quota are required, under the legislation. Also, the commissioner may adopt emergency rules to close the elver fishery to any tribe if he finds that the tribe has authorized fishing that will cause it to exceed its overall annual fishing quota. The legislation also removes the existing prohibition on using fyke nets in the St. Croix River.
Rep. Matt Dana, who was withdrawn from the legislature by the tribe last spring after disagreements with the state over policies that the tribe said failed to respect tribal sovereignty but is still serving as the tribe's ambassador to the legislature, is pleased with the legislation. He states, "I think the state was open and forthcoming with the tribe. They were willing to work with us and reach an agreement together, instead of it being forced upon us again."
He notes that the Department of Marine Resources (DMR) wants the lists of tribal members who have been issued licenses by March 11, since the elver fishing season begins on March 22. If no lists are sent in by the tribe, the start of the season for tribal members would be delayed, he says.
Dana also says out that there is little time for the Passamaquoddy Joint Tribal Council to approve an agreement with the commissioner for this year, and the joint council has not met for several months, with any meetings that have been called lacking a quorum. Although the tribal councils from Pleasant Point and Indian Township have approved resolutions, the joint tribal council is the governing body for the tribe, he notes. Passamaquoddy Chief Fred Moore of Pleasant Point agrees but points out that the joint council authorized entering into a memorandum of agreement for co-management of the fishery back in 2014, so further action may not be necessary. Moore says an agreement now with the state "helps us achieve that which we were unable to accomplish in the past."
Another issue between the tribe and the state concerned the sustenance fishing permits that the tribe had issued last spring and that allowed for the use of fyke nets, which can catch significantly more elvers than dip nets. Moore says that last year he issued 50 to 60 sustenance permits that do not have any expiration date. Marine Resources Commissioner Patrick Keliher then had issued an emergency rule banning the use of fyke nets except under the state's management plan for the fishery. Dana says a compromise was reached with the DMR, which had not wanted sustenance permits to be used. He says that all elvers caught by tribal members, whether under a commercial license or a sustenance permit, will have to be recorded through the state's swipe card system, so the tribe's sustenance permits can still be used.
Other measures in the bill apply to all elver fishermen and are aimed at providing more flexibility in the elver fishing season. The legislation extends the end of the season from May 31 to June 7, as last year the cold water temperatures had caused the season to run later than usual. Also, the bill removes the two-day-a-week closed period in the fishery. Any closed period now will be adopted through department regulation, which will allow for consideration of the calendar and the tides, so that it will have the least impact on the fishermen and they can catch their quota as quickly as possible. On February 4 the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission's American Eel Management Board approved the request from Maine to allow the fishery to be open seven days a week, since the state is now managing its elver fishery with a hard quota including accountability measures by use of the swipe card system.
Also, the legislation allows a license holder to choose which type of elver fishing gear, a fyke net or dip net, he will use for the upcoming fishing season. Previously fishermen had to use the same gear type that they were authorized to use during the previous season.