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 seek a moderate livelihood.
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Some non-Indigenous commercial fishers have complained the system has been undermined by some First Nations unwilling to follow the rules.
Stanley King, manager of Atlantic Elver Fishery, has also accused the Fisheries Department of failing to properly deal with illegal fishing, an accusation the department has denied.
When the season opens on April 1, the eels will be caught in nets and shipped live to Asia where they will be raised in aquaculture facilities for food.
The 22 per cent increase to the allowable catch brings the limit to 12,180 kilograms, an increase partly based on scientific data gleaned from one Nova Scotia river.
© 2026 The Canadian Press