Hey VA Rick,
the American Eel is a protected species according to the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and has no season, it's closed year round. The Fish Ontario guide has instructions that if caught, get them back in the water as soon as possible. Glass eels are a slat water species that are highly prized for their meat but is a totally different animal.
Morley
What the HELL is this?!
While I cannot say that the term "glass eel" is not applied to other animals too, it is specifically applied to juvenile American eels. They are NOT a totally different animal. Glass eels are immature (larval) American eels that are returning to freshwater after their birth at sea. American eels are catadromous, meaning they spawn in saltwater and return to freshwater to develop and mature before migrating back to sea to spawn. It is thought that all American eels migrate to the Sargasso sea to spawn and that the larvae then drift with the Gulf Stream and find their way to various rivers along the east coast of North America.
I did not mean to imply that the American eel is not "protected" in Ontario. But that does not equate to being "Endangered" under the US Endangered Species Act or the Canadian Species At Risk Act. I know for certain that the American eel is not protected under the US Endangered Species Act and I'm pretty sure (based on research of the SARA website) that it is also not protected under SARA.
There really is a BIG difference between being protected under provincial (or state) law versus the Federal laws governing threatened or endangered species. If a species of fish is listed as endangered in the US, it becomes illegal to harass, harm, pursue, hunt, shoot, wound, kill, trap, capture, or collect it or to attempt to engage in such activities or to import or export the species without proper permits. Violation is punishable under Federal law with possible fines or imprisonment. I am not expert with the specific prohibitions that apply to a species listed as endangered under SARA, but it is my understanding that they are quite similar to those for the US law.
Bottom line is that "protected" under state or provincial law is not the same as "endangered" under federal law. That is all I was trying to point out.
I did not mean to imply that the American eel is not "protected" in Ontario. But that does not equate to being "Endangered" under the US Endangered Species Act or the Canadian Species At Risk Act. I know for certain that the American eel is not protected under the US Endangered Species Act and I'm pretty sure (based on research of the SARA website) that it is also not protected under SARA.
There really is a BIG difference between being protected under provincial (or state) law versus the Federal laws governing threatened or endangered species. If a species of fish is listed as endangered in the US, it becomes illegal to harass, harm, pursue, hunt, shoot, wound, kill, trap, capture, or collect it or to attempt to engage in such activities or to import or export the species without proper permits. Violation is punishable under Federal law with possible fines or imprisonment. I am not expert with the specific prohibitions that apply to a species listed as endangered under SARA, but it is my understanding that they are quite similar to those for the US law.
Bottom line is that "protected" under state or provincial law is not the same as "endangered" under federal law. That is all I was trying to point out.
