An Act To Clarify the Licensing Requirements for Aquaculturists and Allow for the Appropriate Handling of Bycatch from Aquaculture Lease Sites
Maine Legislature, Session 123, LD 2137
Committee: Marine Resources
Sponsors: McDONOUGH
Amends: 12 MRSA §6073-A, 12 MRSA §6745

Legislative Document 
No. 2137 
H.P. 1517 
House of Representatives, January 8, 2008 
An Act To Clarify the Licensing Requirements for Aquaculturists 
and Allow for the Appropriate Handling of Bycatch from 
Aquaculture Lease Sites 
Submitted by the Department of Marine Resources pursuant to Joint Rule 204. 
Reference to the Committee on Marine Resources suggested and ordered printed. 
IJ'/~ 1/1. 7llP£~ 
Presented by Representative McDONOUGH of Scarborough. 
Printed on recydeu paper 
MILLICENT M. MacFARLAND 
Clerk 
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows: 
Sec. 1. 12 MRSA §6073-A, as amended by PL 2005, c. 92, §6, is further amended 
to read: 
§6073-A. Season and minimum size exemption; aquaculture 
The holder of a lease issued under section 6072, 6072-A or 6072-B or a license 
issued under section 6072-C is exempt from any requirement regarding the time of taking 
or possessing, minimum or maximum length or other minimum or maximum size 
requirement for any marine organism cultivated on the leased area. The exemption 
applies only to those organisms actually cultivated on the leased area, except that upon 
harvest of finfish from the leased area pursuant to an aquaculture lease, any finfish of a 
species that was not cultivated on the leased area but occurred in the enclosure must also 
be harvested and retained for appropriate disposal by the holder of a lease. Such finfish 
may not be sold and may not be released or disposed of into the waters of the State and 
must be reported to the department at the same time as reports of the harvest are filed. 
The commissioner shall require a system of identification of organisms exempted under 
this section. 
Sec. 2. 12 MRS A §6073-B is enacted to read: 
§6073-B. Harvester license exemption; aquaculture 
The holder of a lease issued under section 6072, 6072-A or 6072-B or a license 
issued under section 6072-C is exempt from any requirement under sections 6421, 6501, 
6748, 6748-A, 6748-C, 6748-D, 6751, 6803 and 6811 to hold a separate license for the 
removal, possession, transport or sale of the cultured organisms, except for molluscan 
bivalve shellfish, from the leased area or the licensed gear. 
Sec. 3. 12 MRS A §6601, sub-§2-A is enacted to read: 
2-A. Licensed activities; aquaculture. The holder of a commercial shellfish license 
who is also the holder or authorized representative of a holder of a lease issued under 
section 6072, 6072-A or 6072-B or a license issued under section 6072-C and personnel 
who are operating under the authority of such a holder of a commercial shellfish license 
may remove, possess, transport within the state limits or sell cultured shellfish the holder 
has removed from the leased area or the licensed gear to a wholesale seafood license 
holder certified under section 6856. Such a holder of a commercial shellfish license may 
also sell such shell stock from that license holder's home in the retail trade. 
The 
department shall establish by rule a means to identify personnel operating under the 
authority of such a license holder. Rules adopted pursuant to this subsection are routine 
technical rules as defined in Title 5, chapter 375, subchapter 2-A. 
Sec.4. 12 MRSA §6745, sub-§2-A is enacted to read: 
2-A. Licensed activities; aquaculture. The holder of a hand-raking mussel license 
who is also the holder or authorized representative of a holder of a lease issued under 
section 6072, 6072-A or 6072-B or a license issued under section 60n-C and personnel 
Page I - 123LR3068(OI)-1 
who are operating under the authority of such a holder of a hand-raking mussel license 
may remove, possess, transport within the state limits or sell cultured mussels the holder 
has removed from the leased area or the licensed gear to a wholesale seafood license 
holder certified under section 6856. Such a holder of a hand-raking mussel license may 
also sell such mussels from that license holder's home in the retail trade. The department 
shall establish by rule a means to identify personnel operating under the authority of such 
a license holder. Rules adopted pursuant to this subsection are routine technical rules as 
defined in Title 5, chapter 375, subchapter 2-A. 
Sec. 5. 12 MRS A §6746, sub-§2-A is enacted to read: 
2-A. Licensed activities; aquaculture. The holder of a mussel boat license who is 
also the holder or authorized representative of a holder of a lease issued under section 
6072, 6072-A or 6072-B or a license issued under section 6072-C and personnel who are 
operating under the authority of such a holder of a mussel boat license may remove, 
possess, transport within the state limits or sell cultured mussels the holder has removed 
from the leased area to a wholesale seafood license holder certified under section 6856. 
Such a holder of a mussel boat license may also sell such mussels from that license 
holder's home in the retail trade. The department shall establish by rule a means to 
identify personnel operating under the authority of such a license holder. Rules adopted 
pursuant to this subsection are routine technical rules as defined in Title 5, chapter 375, 
subchapter 2-A. 
SUMMARY 
This bill provides that fish that cohabitated with farmed fish in an area leased for 
aquaculture must be harvested and returned for appropriate disposal by the lease holder. 
It also provides that the holder of an aquaculture lease is not required to hold a 
separate license for the removal, possession, transport or sale of certain cultured 
organisms from the area leased for aquaculture or licensed gear. 
It establishes that commercial shellfish license holders, mussel hand-raking license 
holders and mussel boat license holders may use these licenses to remove, possess, 
transport and sell cultured shellfish they have removed from an area they lease for 
aquaculture.