An Act To Amend the Laws Governing Marine Resources
Maine Legislature, Session 123, LD 2156
Committee: Marine Resources
Sponsors: DAMON, EATON
Amends: 12 MRSA §6001, 12 MRSA §6022, 12 MRSA §6038, 12 MRSA §6039, 12 MRSA §6140, 12 MRSA §6447, 12 MRSA §6448, 12 MRSA §6505-A, 12 MRSA §6746-A, 12 MRSA §6749-Q, 12 MRSA §68, 12 MRSA §69

Legislative Document 
No. 2156 
S.P.824 
January 16,2008 
An Act To Amend the Laws Governing Marine Resources 
Submitted by the Department of Marine Resources pursuant to Joint Rule 204. 
Reference to the Committee on Marine Resources suggested and ordered printed. 
Presented by Senator DAMON of Hancock. 
Cosponsored by Representative EATON of Sullivan. 
Printed on recycled paper 
JOY J. O'BRIEN 
Secretary of the Senate 
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows: 
Sec. 1. 12 MRSA §6001, sub-§8, as amended by PL 2003, c. 248, §1, is repealed 
and the following enacted in its place: 
8. Common carrier. "Common carrier" means a vehicle that is: 
A. 
Operating under authority granted by either the Federal Government or the 
carrier's home state; and 
B. Transporting goods for hire and the carrier does not own the marine organisms 
being transported. 
Sec. 2. 12 MRSA §6022, sub-§5, as enacted by PL 1977, c. 661, §5, is amended 
to read: 
5. Property. The commissioner may acquire and hold any right or interest in real or 
personal property on behalf of the State. 
The commissioner may by sale, lease or 
otherwise dispose of any such property, or portion of any such property or interest in any 
such property, subject to the provisions of section 598-A. 
Sec. 3. 12 MRS A §6024, sub-§1-A, as amended by PL 2007, c. 176, § 1 and c. 
240, Pt. QQ, §2, is repealed and the following enacted in its place: 
I-A. Appointment; composition; term; compensation. The Marine Resources 
Advisory Council, established by Title 5, section 12004-G, subsection 27, consists of 16 
members. 
The chair of the Lobster Advisory Council, the chair of the Marine 
Recreational Fishing Advisory Council, the chair of the Sea Run Fisheries and Habitat 
Advisory Council and the chair of the Sea Urchin Zone Council are ex officio members 
of the council. Each other member is appointed by the Governor and is subject to review 
by the joint standing committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction over marine 
resources matters and to confirmation by the Legislature. Six members must be persons 
who are licensed under this Part to engage in commercial harvesting activities. Those 6 
members are selected by the Governor from names recommended to the Governor by 
groups representing commercial harvesting interests. Each member must represent a 
different commercial harvesting activity, except that none of those 6 members may 
represent lobster harvesters. The remaining 6 members must include one public member, 
persons who hold a nonharvesting-related license under this Part and one person 
representing the aquaculture industry. The Governor shall select the person to represent 
the aquaculture industry from among the names recommended by the aguaculture 
industry. The composition of the council must reflect a geographical distribution along 
the coast. All appointed members are appointed for a term of 3 years, except a vacancy 
must be filled in the same manner as an original member for the unexpired portion of the 
term. 
An appointed member may not serve for more than 2 consecutive terms. 
Appointed members serve until their successors are appointed. The chair of the Lobster 
Advisory Council, the chair of the Marine Recreational Fishing Advisory Council, the 
chair of the Sea Run Fisheries and Habitat Advisory Council and the chair of the Sea 
Urchin Zone Council shall serve until a new chair of the Lobster Advisory Council, a new 
chair of the Marine Recreational Fishing Advisory Council, a new chair of the Sea Run 
Fisheries and Habitat Advisory Councilor a new chair of the Sea Urchin Zone Council, 
respectively, is chosen. Members are compensated as provided in Title 5, chapter 379. 
Sec. 4. 12 MRS A §6029-A, sub-§2, as corrected by RR 2003, c. 2, § 17, is 
amended to read: 
2. Memorandum of agreement. Prior to engaging in the activities authorized under 
this section, the Bureau of Marine Patrol must enter into a memorandum of agreement 
with the United States Coast Guard that establishes the appropriate procedures and 
protocols for enforcement activities authorized under this section. Any funds received 
from the Federal Government for reimbursement to the State for activities authorized 
under this section must be deposited in the watereraft fund pursuant to seetion 10202, 
subseetion 1, paragraph D Bureau of Marine Patrol federal programs account. 
Sec. 5. 12 MRSA §6038 is enacted to read: 
§6038. Watercraft Fund 
The Watercraft Fund, referred to in this section as "the fund," is established within 
the department. 
1. Sources. The fund is capitalized by money collected from boat registrations and 
fines. In addition to those revenues, the commissioner may accept and deposit into the 
fund money from any other source, public or private. 
2. Purposes. The commissioner shall use the fund primarily for the purpose of 
funding vessel operations and maintenance and safety and enforcement programs. 
3. Interest and balances credited to fund. Any interest earned on the money in the 
fund must be credited to the fund. Unexpended balances in the fund at the end of the 
fiscal year do not lapse but must be carried forward to the next fiscal year and credited to 
the fund. 
Sec. 6. 12 MRSA §6039 is enacted to read: 
§6039. Halibut Fund 
The Halibut Fund, referred to in this section as "the fund," is established within the 
department. 
1. Sources. The fund is capitalized by fees received through the sale of halibut tags. 
In addition to those revenues, the commissioner may accept and deposit into the fund 
money from any other source, public or private. All money in the fund must be used for 
the purposes set forth in this section. 
2. Purposes. The commissioner shall use the fund for halibut research and for the 
implementation of management measures needed for the halibut fishery. 
3. Interest and balances credited to fund. Any interest earned on the money in the 
fund must be credited to the fund. Unexpended balances in the fund at the end of the 
fiscal year do not lapse but must be carried forward to the next fiscal year and credited to 
the fund. 
Sec. 7. 12 MRSA §6140, sub-§4, as enacted by PL 2007, c. 240, Pt. QQ, §7, is 
amended to read: 
4. Atlantic salmon; possession, buying or selling. A person may not possess, buy 
or sell Atlantic salmon unless each fish is clearly identified by one of the following 
methods: 
A. Tagged with a New Brunswick, Quebec, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island or 
Newfoundland-Labrador Atlantic salmon tag if imported from those Canadian 
provinces; 
B. Identified by a sales receipt less than 24 hours old; ef 
C. For wholesale and retail seafood dealers, identified by a bill of sale indicating 
numbers of fish purchased, dates of purchase and point of origin of all fish purchased" 
~ 
D. 
Tagged with a tag that conforms to rules adopted by the commissioner and 
identifies the fish as having been legally obtained from a private fee pond licensed 
pursuant to section 12508. Fish obtained in this manner may not be resold. 
Sec.8. 12 MRS A §6404-F is enacted to read: 
§6404-F. Suspension based on 3 or more convictions of possessing oversize sea 
urchins 
The commissioner shall suspend the sea urchin fishing license of any license holder 
convicted in court of a 3rd or subsequent offense of possessing sea urchins larger than the 
maximum size established pursuant to rule. The suspension must be for at least one year 
but not more than 3 years from the date of conviction. Any conviction occurring more 
than 5 years before the last conviction may not be counted in determining the suspension. 
Sec. 9. 
MRSA §6447, sub-§S-D, as enacted by PL 2007, c. 204, §3, is 
amended to read: 
5-D. 
Council authority; under 18 waiting list. 
Notwithstanding any other 
provision in this subchapter and upon approval in a referendum under subsection 6, a 
lobster management policy council in a limited-entry zone may propose to the 
commissioner that the limitation described in this subsection be placed on entry by 
individuals into that zone in accordance with rules adopted by the department. 
This limitation would require that the number of individuals who are authorized to be 
issued a lobster and crab fishing license that identifies a limited-entry zone as the 
declared lobster zone without meeting the requirements of section 6448, subsection 4, in 
accordance with section 6448, subsection 8, paragraph A, be limited to the number of 
new zone entrants who enter that zone in accordance with section 6448, subsection 7. 
This limitation may not be applied to a person who is under 18 years of age and lives on a 
year-round basis on an island within the coastal waters that is not connected to the 
mainland by any artificial structure. 
The commissioner shall maintain a waiting list of individuals who have identified the 
limited-entry zone as their declared lobster zone in accordance with section 6448, 
subsection 8, paragraph A. For the purposes ofthis subsection, an individual on a waiting 
list maintained by the commissioner does not need to meet the eligibility requirements of 
section 6421, subsection 5-A in order to purchase a student license. 
The commissioner may establish by rule procedures to implement this subsection. Rules 
adopted pursuant to this subsection are routine technical rules as defined in Title 5, 
chapter 375, subchapter 2-A. 
Sec. 10. 12 MRSA §6448, sub-§8, ~A-l, as enacted by PL 2007, c. 204, §8, is 
repealed. 
Sec. 11. 12 MRS A §6451, sub-§I, as amended by PL 2005, c. 354, §3, is further 
amended to read: 
1. Allocation of license fees. Ten dollars of each $113.75 fee, $10 of each $114 fee, 
$20 of each $170 fee, $20 of each $228.50 fee, $30 of each $341.25 fee, $30 of each 
$336 fee, $60 of each $682.75 fee, $120 of each $1,371.50 fee, $180 of each $2,047.25 
fee aRd~ $5 of each $56 fee and $5 of each $57 fee for each lobster and crab fishing 
license must be allocated to the Lobster Fund, which must be used for the purposes of 
lobster biology research, of propagation of lobsters by liberating seed lobsters and female 
lobsters in Maine coastal waters and of establishing and supporting lobster hatcheries. 
Sec. 12. 12 MRSA §6505-A, sub-§2, as amended by PL 2005, c. 533, § 1, is 
further amended to read: 
2. Eligibility. An elver fishing license may be issued only to an individual who: 
C. 
Possessed an elver fishing license in the previous calendar year.,. ~ 
E. Did not possess an elver fishing license in the previous calendar year because the 
commissioner had suspended the person's license privileges for a length of time that 
included the previous calendar year. 
Sec. 13. 12 MRS A §6521, sub-§I, as amended by PL 1999, c. 771, Pt. B, §4 and 
affected by Pt. D, §§ 1 and 2, is repealed and the following enacted in its place: 
1. Deposition of dead marine animals; exception. A person may not deposit or 
discard, in intertidal zones or in harbors or rivers below the dividing line between 
tidewater and fresh water, any dead marine animal or its parts, except that: 
A. A person may deposit oyster shell cultch in those waters solely to promote growth 
of oysters with the written permission of the commissioner and under any conditions 
the commissioner determines appropriate; and 
B. A person may deposit a dead marine mammal for research purposes with the 
written permission of the commissioner and under any conditions the commissioner 
determines appropriate. 
Sec. 14. 12 MRSA §6746-A is enacted to read: 
§6746-A. Night prohibition 
A person may not fish for or take mussels between sunset and sunrise within the 
territorial waters. 
Sec. 15. 12 MRS A §6749-0, sub-§2-A, as amended by PL 2001, c. 327, §11, is 
repealed and the following enacted in its place: 
2-A. License eligibility. The commissioner may not issue a handfishing sea urchin 
license, a sea urchin dragging license or a sea urchin hand-raking and trapping license to 
any person unless that person: 
A. Possessed that license in the previous calendar year; 
B. Becomes eligible to obtain that license pursuant to a limited entry system under 
subsection 2-B; or 
C. Did not possess a sea urchin license in the previous calendar year because the 
commissioner had suspended the person's license privileges for a length of time that 
included the previous calendar year. 
Sec. 16. 12 MRSA §6749-Q, sub-§3, as enacted by PL 1993, c. 740, §3, is 
amended to read: 
3. Sea urchin and scallop diving tender license. Thirty-five dollars on a sea urchin 
boat tender's and scallop diving tender license; 
Sec. 17. 12 MRSA §6749-Q, last ~, as enacted by PL 1995, c. 392, §8 and c. 
462, Pt. A, §32, is amended to read: 
The commissioner shall deposit all surcharges assessed in this section in the Sea 
Urchin Research Fund established in section 6749-R, except that fees collected under 
subsection 3 must be evenly split between the Sea Urchin Research Fund and the Scallop 
Research Fund established in section 6729-A. 
Sec. 18. 12 MRSA §68S1, sub-§2-A, as amended by PL 2005, c. 239, §8, is 
further amended to read: 
2-A. 
Wholesale seafood license with lobster permit. 
At the request of the 
applicant, the commissioner shall issue a wholesale seafood license with a lobster permit. 
A person holding a wholesale seafood license with a lobster permit may engage in all the 
activities in subsection 2 and may buy, sell, process, or ship or transport lobster or 
properly permitted or lawfully imported lobster meat or parts. 
A person holding a 
wholesale seafood license with a lobster permit may transport lobster or properly 
permitted or lawfully imported lobster meat or parts anywhere within the state limits. A 
license under this subsection does not authorize a person to possess or transport lobster 
that person has taken unless that person is in possession of a license issued under section 
6421, subsection 3-A, paragraph A, B, Cor E. A license under this subsection does not 
authorize a person to remove lobster meat from the shell unless a permit under section 
6857 is held. 
Sec. 19. 12 MRSA §69S7, sub-§I, as amended by PL 1995, c. 169, §2, is further 
amended to read: 
1. Prohibition. A person may not operate a vessel using drags, otter trawls, pair 
trawls, beam trawls, scottish seines or midwater trawls to fish for or take finfish, shellfish, 
sea urchins or any other marine organisms within 300 feet of any suspended culture 
floating cages, tray racks or other floating equipment authorized in a lease issued by the 
commissioner under section 6072, 6072-A or 6072-B, or a license issued under section 
6072-C, if the equipment is marked in accordance with subsection I-A. 
SUMMARY 
This bill makes the following changes to the laws governing marine resources. 
1. 
It modifies the definition of "common carrier" to ensure that the intrastate 
transportation of marine organisms by common carrier is allowed. 
2. It provides the Commissioner of Marine Resources the authority to dispose of 
property as well as acquire and hold property. 
3. It corrects a conflict created when Public Law 2007, chapters 176 and 240 both 
amended a provision of law that governs the Marine Resources Advisory Council. It 
corrects the conflict by incorporating the changes made by both laws. 
4. It corrects a reference regarding where United States Coast Guard funding should 
be deposited within the Department of Marine Resources. 
5. It creates the Watercraft Fund within the Department of Marine Resources. 
6. It creates the Halibut Fund within the Department of Marine Resources. 
7. It creates an exception to the prohibition against the possession, buying or selling 
of Atlantic salmon for those fish that have been legally obtained from a licensed private 
fee pond and are tagged in conformance with rules adopted by the Commissioner of 
Marine Resources. 
8. It creates a mandatory suspension based on 3 or more convictions of possessing 
oversize sea urchins. 
9. It clarifies that an individual who is under 18 years of age and living year round on 
1 
an island that is not connected to the mainland by an artificial structure may not be 
subject to being placed on a waiting list when issued a license in a limited-entry zone. 
10. It provides for a portion of the fees for Class I and Class III lobster and crab 
fishing licenses for applicants 70 years of age and older to be deposited in the Lobster 
Fund. 
11. It creates an exemption to limited entry in the elver fishery to allow a person 
whose elver fishing license was suspended for longer than a year to purchase a license in 
the year after the suspension is concluded. 
12. It creates an exemption to allow dead marine mammals to be brought to shore for 
the purpose of research with written permission of the Commissioner of Marine 
Resources and subject to conditions imposed by the commissioner. 
13. It prohibits a person from fishing for or taking mussels between sunset and 
sunrise. 
14. It provides that half of the research surcharge on a sea urchin and scallop diving 
tender license is deposited into the Scallop Research Fund and half is deposited into the 
Sea Urchin Research Fund. 
15. It creates an exemption to limited entry in the sea urchin fishery to allow a 
person whose urchin license was suspended for longer than a year to purchase a license in 
the year after the suspension is concluded. 
16. It clarifies that an individual with a wholesale seafood license with lobster permit 
may ship lobster out of state, but may only transport within the State, unless they also 
hold a lobster transportation permit. 
17. 
It adds areas covered by limited purpose leases for commercial aquaculture 
research and development or for scientific research, emergency aquaculture leases for 
shellfish relocation and the limited-purpose aquaculture license to the areas where fishing 
near floating equipment is prohibited.