Police in Rhode Island have charged men from Phippsburg, Alna and Newcastle in separate incidents of alleged eel poaching.

Police on April 7 apprehended George J. Anestis, 65, of Phippsburg, and his son, George H. Anestis, of Massachusetts, as they pulled in their catch from the Seekonk River in Pawtucket.

In court recently, the men agreed to pay $2,000 each in fines; authorities confiscated their nets and traps. They said they sold their fish for about $1,000 a pound, but wouldn’t divulge buyers’ names.

Alan L. Beaucage, 37, of Alna, and Jeremy J. Geroux, 35, of Newcastle also were arrested and charged with the same offenses, after an April 14 incident in Pawtucket. Arrest warrants were issued for their alleged failure to appear in court Friday.

Maine, South Carolina and Florida allow limited fishing of elvers, while most other states prohibit such fishing. Maine generated some $40 million in sales of eels in 2012. Environmental groups and fishermen are battling the state’s catch limit in the face of increasing pressure on the resource.