An Act To Amend Laws Pertaining to Commercial Fishing and Baitfish
Maine Legislature, Session 122, LD 0723
Committee: Inland Fisheries and Wildlife
Sponsors: CEBRA, RICHARDSON
Amends: 12 MRSA §12456, 12 MRSA §12551-A

Legislative Document 
No. 723 
H.P.518 
House of Representatives, February 10, 2005 
An Act To Amend Laws Pertaining to Commercial Fishing and 
Baitfish 
Submitted by the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife pursuant to Joint Rule 204. 
Reference to the Committee on Inland Fisheries and Wildlife suggested and ordered 
printed. 
Presented by Representative CEBRA of Naples. 
If/~ 
/J7.7l!dC~ 
MILLICENT M. MacFARLAND 
Clerk 
Cosponsored by Representatives: RICHARDSON of Carmel, RICHARDSON of Greenville. 
Printed nn ra.-ycled paper 
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows: 
Sec. I. 12 MRSA §lOOOI. sub-§12-A. as enacted by PL 2003, c. 
552, §1 and affected by §15 and c. 655, Pt. 
C, 
§§2 and 6, is 
amended to read: 
12-A. 
Dip 
net. 
!!QipBe~!! 
"Dip 
net" 
consisting of 
a 
rigid frame 
w:u'h~_!'llaximum 
inches, filled with netting, firmly attached 
and manually operated by a single person. 
means 
a 
device 
hoop 
si~e of 
to a rigid handle 
Sec. 2. 12 MRSA §12456, sub-§2, ~A. as enacted by PL 2003, c. 
414, Pt. A, §2 and affected by c. 614, §9, is amended to read; 
A. 
A 
Fro-,"!Ll:1...QX_!:;tt~tl1_~ove!'llber 30th, a person may take 
smelts 
a~-aBy-~i~e from noon to midnight in accordance with 
baIJ-__ Jj.Jni ts~ti;!blj,_s...he(:LJ~y ___ r_ul_~ by the use of a 
E1ipBe~ gj.p 
net in the usual 
and ordinary way 
in inland waters or 
portions of inland waters that are naturally free of ice, 
and where the taking of smelts is not prohibited by rules of 
the commissioner. 
Only_ 5 dozen smelts per person may be 
kept alive as part of the daily bag limit; 
Sec. 3. 12 MRSA §12551-A. sub-§7, "A and B, as enacted by PL 
2003, c. 655, Pt. B, §259 and affected by §422, are amended to 
read: 
A. 
The holder of a smelt wholesale dealer's license may: 
(1) 
Take live smelts for resale from any inland water 
or private pond. 
The taking of live smelts from inland 
waters must be in accordance with general rules adopted 
by the commissioner in regard to the taking of smelts. 
Except as provided in paragraph B, 
the holder of 
a 
smel t 
wholesaler's license shall comply with the same 
daily bag limit and the same tackle restrictions that 
apply to all other anglers and is subject to the same 
penalties 
for 
violations 
of 
those 
limits 
and 
restrictions; 
(2) 
Yse 
t'.rom _J)ec_em~eL ___ l.sJ;,~t.<L-March 14th, 
use 
a 
baitfish trap, a dip net, a drop net, a lift net, a bag 
net or hook and line to take up to 8 quarts of smelts 
in a 24--hour period, beginning at noon on a given day, 
from 
specific 
inland 
waters 
designated 
by 
the 
commissioner_. __ 
Fr.QITl_M.llLCb 
15th to 
November 
30th, 
a 
p~rson licens~d under this _____ section !!lay take smelts in 
accordance with the 
bCl.~imi t 
established by rule of 
the commissioner from noon to midnight by the use of a 
Page I--LR0332(1) 
]4 
]13 
dip net in the usual and ordinary way in inland waters 
designated by the commissioner; 
(3) 
May 
use 
pa~ticles of 
luring smelts to a baitfish 
net, a lift net or a bag net; 
food for 
the purpose of 
trap, 
a dip net, 
a drop 
holder's business 
limit 
of 
smelts 
by the license 
or acquired from 
to deal in live 
(4) 
Transport or possess at the 
facility 
more 
than 
the daily 
bag 
provided that the 
smelts were 
taken 
holder in accordance with this section 
a person licensed under this section 
smelts; 
(5) 
Designate others to assist in selling live smelts 
at the holder's business facility; and 
(6) 
Transport or designate others to transport on the 
license holder's behalf live smelts in accordance with 
this subsection. 
B. 
The holder of a smelt wholesale dealer's license may not: 
( 1) 
When engaged in taking, or assisting in taking, 
live smelts for 
resale from 
inland waters, fail to 
exhibit the license to any agent of the commissioner 
upon request; 
(2) 
Take multiple bag limits from waters governed by 
general rules regulating the taking of smelts in order 
to attain the 8-quart limit of smelts described in 
paragraph A, subparagraph 2; 
(3) 
Use a seine to take smelts; 
(4) 
Transport or 
possess at the holder's business 
facility more than the daily bag limit of smelts at any 
time unless the smelts were acquired in accordance with 
paragraph 
A, 
subparagraph 
4. 
If 
the 
smelts 
were 
purchased from another person, the license holder must 
present a receipted invoice, bill of lading or bill of 
sale to any agent of the commissioner upon request; 
(5) 
Transport 
from 
an inland water 
source 
to 
the 
licensee's place of business more than 8 quarts of live 
smelts; 
(6) 
Permit any person to transport live smelts on the 
license holder's behalf directly from an inland water 
source; 
(7) 
Attempt to take 
from the inland waters of the 
State live smelts for resale using drop nets through 
the ice unless the license holder marks all holes made 
in the ice by that license holder for that purpose. 
The holes must be marked either by evergreen boughs 
placed around the hole or by suspending at least one 
strand of fluorescent biodegradable tape at least 
feet above the ice around the entire perimeter of the 
hole so that the tape is visible from all sides; 
(8) 
Take smelts during the winter months, except by 
hook 
and line, unless the holder has 
a 
commercially 
ma_nU!j;tctJl-xed 
number 
fish grader 
certifie~~h~ 
Department 
of 
Agr iGul ture, 
Bureau 
of 
Weights 
aIlel 
Measures 
in 
operable 
condition 
in 
that 
holder's 
immediate proximity during the taking of smelts 
and 
uses that grader during the smelt harvesting activity. 
The holder shall liberate immediately all undersized 
smelts 
alive 
into 
the waters 
from 
which 
they 
were 
taken. 
For 
the 
purpose 
of 
this 
subparagraph, 
a 
commercially mam.lfactured number 14 grader is a grader 
having 
a 
minimum grate size of 
14/64 inches. 
This 
subparagraph does not apply to a 
license holder who 
fishes with a hook and line only; or 
(9) 
Possess at that person's place of business any 
species of fish that may not legally be sold as bait. 
Each 
day 
a 
person 
violates 
this 
paragraph 
that 
person 
commits a class E crime. 
Sec. 4. 12 MRSA §12551-A~ sub-§10 is enacted to read: 
10. 
Reports required. 
A person licensed under this section 
shall submit a report on forms provided by the department, with 
the following informatj.Qn: 
name and location of waters 
fish~QL 
the dates 
fished---L--total~~~ear type, 
and number of 
netc~ 
used. 
The report must be submitted by April 10th of each year. 
The 
data 
submitted 
as 
part 
of 
the 
report 
is 
confidential 
information. 
The 
dep(HJ:I!lent~.9.Y.--.-1!_se the data submitted aLl2Q£t 
of the report for scientif~~XQQ~es only. 
A person who has not 
submitted this report is~hibited from retaining a license. 
A 
person whose 
ability to 
retain 
a 
license 
has 
been 
affected 
PJJ,rsuant 
to 
this 
subsection 
mE 
submit 
an 
appeal 
to 
the 
commissioner. 
SUMMARY 
This bill changes the def ini tion of 
minimum size, provides further definition 
within the smelt wholesaler's license and 
requirements for commercial smelt dealers, 
dip net to include a 
of a commercial grader 
provides for reporting