Elver Fishery

• ‘I’ll be the last man standing’: Tensions resurface in Nova Scotia elver fishery

  The profitable baby eel fishery is underway in the Maritimes, after illegal fishing and violence led to its cancellation last year.

  Canada

  Apr 21, 2025
  
• Tensions rise on Nova Scotia river as Indigenous eel fishers reject Ottawa rules

  Under the system, the licence holders — including the 20 First Nations who were new entrants — are given quotas based on how many people live in their communities.

  Canada

  Mar 31, 2025
  
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• As elver fishery season set to launch, N.S. First Nation rejects federal rules

  Canadian baby eels — also known as elvers — are fished in Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Maine and shipped live to Asia, where they are grown to maturity.  

  Canada

  Mar 21, 2025
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• Ottawa scraps elver fishery quota redistribution plan after backlash

  A statement from Fisheries Minister Diane Lebouthillier's office said the minister reached the decision after listening to feedback from stakeholders in recent weeks.

  Canada

  Jan 23, 2025
• Ottawa’s proposed shift of elver wealth has a problem: some recipients don’t want it

  Tension over the fishery led to violence on the province's rivers this spring, including accusations of assault and shots fired.

  Economy

  Dec 20, 2024
• Officer receives suspension after two Mi’kmaq elver fishers left without boots

  A federal fisheries officer has been suspended for 10 days without pay for his role in arresting two Mi'kmaq elver fishers and releasing them in only their socked feet.

  Canada

  Dec 11, 2024
• DFO says commercial elver fishers won’t be compensated under new quota plan

  'She thinks she's playing Robin Hood, and in actuality, she's putting these fishermen in a worse-off situation than they currently are,' one licence-holder said.

  Canada

  Nov 25, 2024
• Baby eels worth up to $350K destined for overseas market intercepted in Nova Scotia

  The Fisheries Department says on social media that officers intercepted the shipment "based on gathered intelligence" and arrested two people.

  Crime

  Jun 4, 2024
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• Fisheries minister leaning toward suspending this year’s Maritime baby eel fishery

  Canada's fisheries minister says she wants to shut down this year's lucrative baby eel fishery with only weeks to go before the season opens in the Maritimes.

  Environment

  Feb 13, 2024
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• Federal government declines comment on First Nations elver quota court ruling

  Justice Elizabeth Walker said the quota transfer was “fair and reasonable'' given the broad discretion the fisheries minister has to manage Canadian fisheries.

  Canada

  Sep 5, 2023