Canada's Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) has indefinitely postponed information sessions on its proposed pilot project to transfer elver quotas from longtime license holders, reports the CBC.

The DFO plan to redistribute up to 50% of the current annual elver quota to allow 150 new licenses and increased access for First Nations, with no compensation to long-standing license holders for the expropriation, was vehemently criticized by the industry in the provinces of Nova Scotia (NS) and New Brunswick (NB).

The Canadian Committee for a Sustainable Elver Fishery, led by commercial license holder Stanley King, called it a "smash and grab," as previously reported by Undercurrent News. 

In an email on Tuesday (Jan. 14), the DFO told elver license holders that an information session planned for next week is postponed indefinitely and the agency will contact fishers "as soon as a decision is received" on the future of the fishery, reported the CBC.

When asked if the postponement signals that the pilot project is being abandoned, a DFO official said the agency is still considering "input."

Recall that fisheries minister Diane Lebouthillier canceled the 2023 elver season in the Atlantic provinces over concerns of illegal fishing and the conservation of the species.

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While the quota for elvers — also known as glass eels — is small, at just 9,860 kilograms in total in NS and NB, the value is high. In recent years, elvers have fetched prices of CAD 3,000 ($42,225) per kilogram to CAD 5,000/kg. The elvers are highly valued in Asian markets, where they are grown out in aquaculture facilities to supply eels to the sushi market.

The season in Atlantic Canada usually begins in March.