An Act To Regulate the Rockweed Harvest in Cobscook Bay
Maine Legislature, Session 124, LD 0345
Committee Amendment CA_A_S225 (Senate)
Amends: 12 MRSA §6803-A, 12 MRSA §6803-B, 12 MRSA §6803-C

COMMITTEE AMENDMENT "A " to S.P. 109, L.D. 345, Bill, "An Act To 
Regulate the Rockweed Harvest in Cobscook Bay" 
Amend the bill by inserting after the title and before the enacting clause the 
following: 
'Emergency preamble. Whereas, acts and resolves of the Legislature do not 
become effective until 90 days after adjournment unless enacted as emergencies; and 
Whereas, the sustainabi lity of the harvesting practices l1~ed to harvest rockweed in 
Cobscook Bay has been questioned; and 
Whereas, additional regulation of rockweed harvesting in Cobscook Bay is 
necessary to ensure the conservation and long-term health of rockweed in the bay; and 
Whereas, this legislation must take effect immediately in order to apply to the 
harvest of rockweed in Cobscook Bay this spring; and 
Whereas, in the judgment of the Legislature, these facts create an emergency within 
the meaning of the Constitution of Maine and require the following legislation as 
immediately necessary for the preservation of the public peace, health and safety; now, 
therefore,' 
Amend the bill by striking out everything after the enacting clause and inserting the 
following: 
'Sec. 1. 12 MRSA §6803-A is enacted to read: 
§6803-A. Seaweed buyer's license 
1. 
License required. A seaweed buyer's license is required for a person who 
purchases more than 10 wet tons annually directly from seaweed harvesters holding a 
permit under section 6803. A person may not engage in the activities authorized under 
this section without a current seaweed buyer's license. 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT ,.;I "to S.P. 109, L.D. 345 
2. Licensed activity. The holder of a seaweed buyer's license may buy, possess, 
ship, transport or sell seaweed. 
3. Fees. The fee for a seaweed buyer's license is: 
A. Two hundred dollars for a resident seaweed buyer's license; and 
B. Five hundred dollars for a nonresident seaweed buyer's license. 
4. Disposition of fees. Fees collected under this section accrue to the Seaweed 
Management Fund established in section 6806. 
5. Violation. A person who violates this section commits a civil violation for which 
a fine of not less than $100 or more than $500 may be adjudged. 
Sec. 2. 12 MRSA §6803-B is enacted to read: 
§6803-B. Seaweed buyer's surcharge 
A person licensed under section 6803-A shall pay an annual surcharge, which must 
be deposited in the Seaweed Management Fund established under section 6806. The 
commissioner shall establish the surcharge by rule, but the surcharge may not exceed $5 
per wet ton. The commissioner may refuse to renew a license under this Part or exclude a 
person from participating in harvest plans under section 6803-C, subsection 4 for failing 
to pay the surcharge under this section. 
Sec. 3. 12 MRSA §6803-C is enacted to read: 
§6803-C. Cobscook Bay Rockweed Management Area 
1. Definitions. As used in this section, unless the context otherwise indicates, the 
following terms have the following meanings. 
A. "Cobscook Bay Rockweed Management Area" means the area of Cobscook Bay 
westward and within a line between the southernmost tip of Estes Head due east to 
the Canadian border and south along the border to the Franklin D. Roosevelt 
International Memorial Bridge. 
B. "Rockweed" means Ascophyllum nodosum. 
2. Designation of areas closed to harvesting. The commissioner shall identify 
areas within the Cobscook Bay Rockweed Management Area that are closed to the 
commercial harvest of rockweed, including, but not limited to, areas around public and 
private conservation areas, state parks and federally owned lands and lobster nursery 
areas. The commissioner shall identify and close to the commercial harvest of rockweed 
up to 30 acres within Cobscook Bay for the purpose of research. 
3. Harvest management sectors. The commissioner shall divide the Cobscook Bay 
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Rockweed Management Area into at least 14 harvest management sectors to: 
A. Evenly distribute harvest effort; 
B. Allow easy identification of the harvest management sectors from land or on the 
water; and 
C. Facilitate enforcement. 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
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COMMITTEE AMENDMENT" A" to S.P. \09, L.D. 345 
The department shall post the harvest management sectors on the department's publicly 
accessible website with the coordinates of closed areas. 
4. Harvest plan. Except as provided in section 6803, subsection 2, paragraph C, a 
person harvesting rockweed for commercial purposes shall participate in an annual 
harvest plan approved by the department. 
5. Eligibility for harvest plan. To be eligible to submit an annual harvest plan to 
harvest rockweed within the Cobscook Bay Rockweed Management Area, a harvester or 
that harvester's representative must notify the commissioner of that person's intent to 
harvest within the area before January 1 st of the proposed year of harvest. 
6. 
Allocation of sectors. 
Prior to submitting an annual harvest plan, eligible 
harvesters or their representatives must meet as needed to allocate harvest management 
sectors. 
7. Annual harvest plan. An annual harvest plan must include, but is not limited to, 
the following: 
A. 
The name and telephone number of the person or entity responsible for the 
harvest management sector; 
B. Identification of harvest management sectors proposed for harvest; 
C. Total rockweed biomass contained in the harvest anagement sector based on a 
survey conducted within the previous 3 years; 
D. The biomass amount proposed to be harvested; 
E. A description of the methods of harvest; 
F. 
A description of how marine organisms harvested with the rockweed will be 
managed; and 
G. A description of harvester training. 
8. Annual harvest plans. Eligible harvesters or their representatives shall submit 
their annual harvest plans to the commissioner no later than March 1 st. The annual 
harvest plans must be made available to the public on that date. 
9. Biomass harvest limit. The total biomass removed in a harvest management 
sector may not exceed 17% of the harvestable biomass that is eligible to be harvested 
annually. A harvester must report to the commissioner the total biomass removed by that 
harvester within a sector annually. Beginning January 1, 2010, the harvest report must be 
verified by an independent 3rd party. 
10. Bycatch. A person harvesting rockweed must make a reasonable effort to 
remove marine organisms harvested with the rockweed from the harvested rockweed and 
return those marine organisms alive back into Cobscook Bay as soon as practicable. 
11. Penalties. A person that violates this section commits a Class E crime for which 
a fine of not less than $1,000 must be adjudged. Each day a person violates this section 
constitutes a separate violation. 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
COMMITIEE AMENDMENT "A" to S.P. 109, L.D. 345 
Sec. 4. 
Report on seaweed research plan and on seaweed harvest 
activities. The Commissioner of Marine Resources shall report to the Joint Standing 
Committee on Marine Resources by January 15,2010 the foll0'Ying: 
1. Recommendations on a research plan for the seaweed resource in Cobscook Bay; 
and 
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2. A report on the 2009 seaweed harvest in Cobscook Bay that includes, but is not 
limited to, harvester compliance with regulations and the Quoddy Regional Land Trust 
voluntary no-harvest registry. 
The Joint Standing Committee on Marine Resources may submit legislation to the 
Emergency clause. 
In view of the emergency cited in the preamble, this 
legislation takes effect when approved.' 
SUMMARY 
This amendment replaces the bill, changes the title and adds an emergency preamble 
and emergency clause. The amendment: 
1. Creates a seaweed buyer license for a person who purchases more than 10 wet 
tons annually directly from seaweed harvesters who hold permits and allows the license 
holder to buy, possess, ship, transport and sell seaweed. The fee for the license is $200 
for a resident and $500 for a nonresident. 
Fees collected accrue to the Seaweed 
Management Fund; 
2. Creates a seaweed buyer's surcharge and directs the Commissioner of Marine 
Resources to establish the surcharge by rule, but it may not exceed $5 per wet ton; 
3. 
Creates the Cobscook Bay Rockweed Management Area and requires the 
Commissioner of Marine Resources to identify areas within the Cobs cook Bay Rockweed 
Management Area that are closed to the commercial harvest of rockweed including, but 
not limited, to areas around public and private conservation areas, state parks and 
federally owned lands and lobster nursery areas; 
4. 
Directs the Commissioner of Marine Resources to identify and close to the 
commercial harvest of rockweed up to 30 acres within Cobscook Bay for the purpose of 
research; 
5. Requires the Commissioner of Marine Resources to divide the Cobscook Bay 
Rockweed Management Area into at least 14 harvest management sectors; 
6. 
Requires commercial harvesters to submit an annual harvest plan to harvest 
rockweed within the Cobscook Bay Rockweed Management Area; 
7. Provides that the total biomass that may be removed from a harvest management 
sector within the Cobs cook Bay Management Area may not exceed 17% of the 
harvestable biomass that is eligible to be harvested annually. The amendment provides 
that a report of the total biomass removed must be submitted by the harvestor to the 
commissioner, and that after January 1, 2010 the harvester's report must be verified by a 
rd party; 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
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COMMITTEE AMENDMENT "A" to S.P. 109, L.D. 345 
8. Requires a person who harvests rockweed to make a reasonable effort to remove 
marine organisms harvested with the rockweed from the harvested seaweed and return 
those marine organisms alive back into Cobscook Bay as soon as practicable; 
9. Makes violations of prohibitions related to the Cobscook Bay Management Area a 
Class E crime for which a fine of not less than $1,000 must be adjudged and provides that 
each day a violation occurs it constitutes a separate violation; and 
10. Directs the commissioner to report to the Joint Standing Committee on Marine 
Resources by January 15, 2010 recommendations for a seaweed research plan for 
Cobscook Bay and on the 2009 seaweed harvest in Cobscook Bay. 
It gives that 
committee the authority to submit legislation to the Second Regular Session of the 124th 
Legislature regarding the report. 
FISCAL ~OTE REQUIRED 
(See attac~ed) 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
Approved: 05124/09 ;:k?ac:.. 
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LD345 
LR 1169(02) 
An Act To Regulate the Rockweed Harvest in Cobscook Bay 
Fiscal Note for Bill as Amended by Committee Amendment "A" 
Committee: Marine Resources 
Fiscal Note Required: Yes 
Fiscal Note 
2009-10 
Revenue 
Other Special Revenue Funds 
$700 
Correctional and Judicial Impact Statements 
Establishes new Class E crimes; increases correctional and judicial costs. 
Increases the number of civil violations 
2010-11 
$700 
Projections 
2011-12 
$700 
The collection of additional fines may also increase General Fund revenue by minor amounts. 
Fiscal Detail and Notes 
Projections 
2012-13 
$700 
This bill creates a seaweed buyer's license, and is expected to increase Other Special Revenue Funds revenue by $700 
beginning in fiscal year 2009-10. Additional costs to the Department of Marine Resources can be absorbed within 
existing budgeted resources. 
LRl169(02) - Fiscal Note - Page 1 of 1 
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