N.S. news: Government against elver quota proposal [Video]

HALIFAX –

The Nova Scotia government wants Ottawa to reconsider a proposed pilot project that would redistribute the quota for commercial licence holders in the lucrative — and sometimes violent — fishery for baby eels.

In an end-of-year interview with The Canadian Press, Premier Tim Houston said he doesn’t think it’s a good idea for the federal Fisheries Department to redistribute licences to people already working for commercial companies that harvest the eels, known as elvers.

“We just don’t agree,” Houston said about Ottawa’s proposal, which he called a shining example of the government’s “inability to properly understand and manage the fishery. It’s been communicated to them that we are not a fan of what they are trying to do there.”

The elver fishery in the Maritimes has been tainted in recent years by drama and violence because of how profitable it is — the baby eels had reached market values as high as about $5,000 …