PORTLAND

Fishermen who make much of their living in Maine’s lucrative baby eel market might see a reduced quota in 2015.

A federal panel on Thursday recommended a quota of 9,688 pounds of elvers, also called glass eels, next year. That would be a reduction of slightly less than 18 percent from the quota of 11,749 pounds this year, which was the first time a quota was imposed.

The recommended quota reflects the amount of elvers caught in Maine this year, said Kate Taylor, eel fishery management plan coordinator for the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission. The panel’s recommendation will go to the American Eel Management Board, which is expected to vote on it Monday at a meeting in Connecticut.

Maine elver fishermen will oppose the quota cut at the meeting, said Jeffrey Pierce, director of the Maine Elver Fishermen’s Association.

“They can’t keep cutting it every year. Our markets need to know there is stability they can count on,” Pierce said.

The fishermen’s catch topped 18,000 pounds in 2012 and 2013, prompting concerns of overfishing. Maine elvers’ value has also grown exponentially and they became the state’s second most valuable fishery, after lobsters. Prices topped $1,800 per pound in 2012 and 2013, and fishermen reported prices between $500 and $1,000 per pound this year, still much higher than the prior two decades.

Maine’s Department of Marine Resources is advocating for the status quo, said Jeff Nichols, a spokesman for the department. He cited the success of management measures introduced this year, including a swipe card system to prevent poaching. The season ran from April 6 to May 31 this year.

Elvers are sold overseas as seed stock for aquaculture companies in Asia that raise them to maturity and sell them as food. Taylor said the quota is designed to protect the health of the fishery while recognizing the economic importance of the glass eel to the state.