An Act To Make Technical Changes to Maine's Marine Resources Laws
Maine Legislature, Session 125, LD 1722
Committee: Marine Resources
Sponsors: SNOWE-MELLO
Amends: 12 MRSA §6001, 12 MRSA §6022, 12 MRSA §6030, 12 MRSA §6032-A, 12 MRSA §6072-D, 12 MRSA §6078-A, 12 MRSA §6121, 12 MRSA §6131, 12 MRSA §6134, 12 MRSA §6136, 12 MRSA §6141, 12 MRSA §6171, 12 MRSA §6302-A, 12 MRSA §6374, 12 MRSA §6501, 12 MRSA §6502-A, 12 MRSA §6553-A, 12 MRSA §6575-C, 12 MRSA §6672, 12 MRSA §6731-A, 12 MRSA §6749-N, 12 MRSA §6851, 12 MRSA §6955, 12 MRSA §6977

Legislative Document 
No. 1722 
S.P. 587 
In Senate, December 29, 2011 
An Act To Make Technical Changes to Maine's Marine Resources 
Laws 
Submitted by the Department of Marine Resources pursuant to Joint Rule 204. 
Received by the Secretary of the Senate on December 23, 2011.  Referred to the Committee 
on Marine Resources pursuant to Joint Rule 308.2 and ordered printed. 
JOSEPH G. CARLETON, JR. 
Secretary of the Senate 
Presented by Senator SNOWE-MELLO of Androscoggin. 
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows: 
Sec. 1.  12 MRSA §6001, sub-§1-A, as enacted by PL 1981, c. 63, is repealed. 
Sec. 2.  12 MRSA §6001, sub-§37-B is enacted to read: 
37-B.  River herring.  "River herring" means the species Alosa pseudoharengus, 
commonly called alewife, and Alosa aestivalis, commonly called blueback herring. 
Sec. 3.  12 MRSA §6022, sub-§17, as enacted by PL 2011, c. 10, §1, is amended 
to read: 
17.  Permit banking program.  The commissioner may administer a permit banking 
program in which the department holds federal limited access fishing permits and 
distributes the rights associated with those permits to eligible residents of the State with 
the goal of restoring and preserving access to federally managed fisheries.  The 
commissioner may lease fisheries allocations, as required, to fund the costs associated 
with the permit banking program and may use funds in excess of those needed to 
administer the program to provide assistance to groundfish sectors consistent with the 
goals of the program. 
Sec. 4.  12 MRSA §6030, sub-§2, as amended by PL 2003, c. 520, §1, is repealed. 
Sec. 5.  12 MRSA §6032-A is enacted to read: 
§6032-A.  Marine Recreation Fishing Conservation and Management Fund 
1.  Fund established.  The Marine Recreation Fishing Conservation and 
Management Fund, referred to in this section as "the fund," is established within the 
department.  The commissioner may receive on behalf of the fund funds from any source.  
All money received into the fund must be used for the purposes of the fund under 
subsection 2.  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 to be used for the purposes of the fund.  
Any interest earned on the money in the fund must be credited to the fund. 
2.  Uses of fund.  The commissioner may authorize the expenditure of money from 
the fund for research and conservation efforts related to the saltwater recreational fishery. 
Sec. 6.  12 MRSA §6072-D, sub-§5, as enacted by PL 2003, c. 660, Pt. A, §16, is 
repealed. 
Sec. 7.  12 MRSA §6078-A, sub-§5, as enacted by PL 2003, c. 247, §19, is 
repealed. 
Sec. 8.  12 MRSA §6121, sub-§1, as repealed and replaced by PL 1983, c. 388, 
§1, is amended to read: 
1.  Commissioner's authority.  In order to conserve, develop or restore anadromous 
fish resources, the commissioner may require a fishway to be erected, maintained, 
repaired or altered by the owners, lessors or other persons in control of any dam or other 
artificial obstruction within coastal waters frequented by alewives river herring, shad, 
salmon, sturgeon or other anadromous fish species. 
Sec. 9.  12 MRSA §6131, as amended by PL 2009, c. 17, §§1 to 4, is further 
amended to read: 
§6131.  River herring fishing rights 
The commissioner is authorized to develop, manage or lease alewife river herring 
fishing rights as follows. 
1.  River herring rights. The commissioner shall grant the right, exclusive or 
otherwise, to take alewives river herring to any municipality entitled to those rights on 
January 1, 1974 and may grant the right to take alewives river herring to any other 
municipality provided:  
A.  Any municipality that has had the right to take alewives river herring, exclusive 
or otherwise, or is granted that right by the commissioner, shall take action through 
its legislative body and file a copy of this action with the commissioner prior to April 
20th or lose that right for the remaining part of that year; 
B.    Municipal rights that are not exercised for 3 consecutive years lapse; 
C.  At its annual meeting the municipality may determine by vote:  
(1)  Whether alewife river herring fishing will be operated by the municipality 
through the municipal officers or a committee; and  
(2)  Whether the municipal rights to take alewives river herring will be sold by 
the municipal officers or committee; and 
D.  Harvesting plans shall must be developed as follows.  
(1)  Any municipality engaged in harvesting alewives river herring shall submit a 
written harvesting plan to the commissioner prior to April 20th of each calendar 
year. All harvesting plans shall must set forth in detail the exact conditions under 
which alewives river herring may be taken, all in accordance with good 
conservation practices.  
(2)  The commissioner, after consultation with the appropriate municipal officers, 
shall approve or modify the harvesting plan as he deems the commissioner 
determines necessary for the conservation of alewives river herring and other 
anadromous fish, and shall file a copy of the approved plan with the clerk of the 
municipality. 
2.  Limitations. The following limitations apply to any grant.  
A.    It is unlawful to take alewives river herring from 6 a.m. each Thursday morning 
until 6 a.m. Sunday morning. Municipalities that make other provisions for escape of 
spawning alewives, which river herring that are approved by the commissioner, are 
exempt from this limit. 
B.    It shall be is unlawful for any municipality or purchaser or lessee of the 
municipal right to take alewives river herring in any manner except as provided in the 
approved alewife river herring harvesting plan. 
3.  Closed period in rivers and streams not under lease agreement. In any river or 
stream not managed under a lease agreement, there is a 72-hour closed period on the 
taking of alewives river herring and obstruction of the watercourse to allow the free 
passage of fish from 6 a.m. on Thursday to 6 a.m. the following Sunday. 
4.  Violation of harvesting plan. If the commissioner determines after investigation 
that the municipality is not following its alewife river herring harvesting plan, he the 
commissioner shall notify the municipality. Any municipality which that fails to take 
corrective action within 48 hours of notification shall lose loses its alewife river herring 
fishing privilege for that calendar year. Upon further notification by the commissioner of 
loss of alewife river herring fishing privileges, the municipality or its agents shall cease 
all fishing activity and immediately remove all traps, weirs, seines or other alewife river 
herring fishing gear from their alewife river herring waters. 
5.  Leasing of rights.  The commissioner: 
A.  When the commissioner decides to manage or lease any alewife river herring 
fishing rights where when a municipality has had those rights and has failed to act as 
provided in subsection 1, shall so notify the clerk of the municipality in writing. After 
the notice, the commissioner may lease any of those rights to any person, as the 
commissioner determines is in the best interest of the State. All leases must be in 
writing and signed by the commissioner and the lessee and must set forth in detail the 
exact conditions under which the alewives river herring may be taken, all in 
accordance with good conservation practices; and 
B.  May manage or lease alewife river herring fishing rights in any river or stream 
where a municipality does not have those rights. The commissioner may lease any of 
those rights to any person, as the commissioner determines is in the best interest of 
the State. All leases must be in writing and approved and signed by the commissioner 
and the lessee and must set forth in detail the exact conditions under which the 
alewives river herring may be taken, all in accordance with good conservation 
practices. 
6.  Violation of terms. It shall be is unlawful for any person holding such a lease to 
violate any of its terms or to cause the same to be done. 
7.  Molesting equipment. It shall be is unlawful to molest the fishing equipment of 
any lease holder or to interfere with the fishing rights granted by the lease. 
8.  Migratory Fish Fund. All fees received by the commissioner from alewife river 
herring leasing rights are allocated to the Migratory Fish Fund, as established. 
Expenditures from the Migratory Fish Fund must be made:  
A.    To build fishways for alewives river herring and other migratory fish; 
B.    For construction of other facilities for improving the environment of alewives 
river herring and other migratory fish; 
C.    For general propagation and conservation of alewives river herring and other 
migratory fish;  
D.    For research to enhance the fishing industry based on alewives river herring and 
other migratory fish; and 
E.  For management measures required to maintain or enhance alewife river herring 
populations or populations of other migratory fish. 
The Migratory Fish Fund does not lapse. 
Sec. 10.  12 MRSA §6134, as repealed and replaced by PL 2007, c. 587, §1, is 
amended to read: 
§6134.  River herring passage; fishways on the St. Croix River 
This section governs the passage of alewives river herring on the Woodland Dam and 
the Grand Falls Dam located on the St. Croix River. 
1.  Woodland Dam.  By May 1, 2008, the commissioner and the Commissioner of 
Inland Fisheries and Wildlife shall ensure that the fishway on the Woodland Dam is 
configured or operated in a manner that allows the passage of alewives river herring. 
2.  Grand Falls Dam.  The commissioner and the Commissioner of Inland Fisheries 
and Wildlife shall ensure that the fishway on the Grand Falls Dam is configured or 
operated in a manner that prevents the passage of alewives river herring. 
Sec. 11.  12 MRSA §6136, sub-§5, as enacted by PL 2005, c. 641, §1, is amended 
to read: 
5.  Amendment and termination of trust.  The department shall file a report make 
recommendations as follows. 
A.    The department shall report to the Legislature on a biennial basis concerning the 
activities of the trust. 
B.    In the event the department determines that the provisions of the trust should be 
amended, the department shall make appropriate recommendations to the Legislature 
in its biennial report. 
C.    The department may recommend in its biennial report that the trust be 
terminated if termination is determined to be appropriate.  In the event that the 
Legislature terminates the trust, the principal and operating funds must be disbursed 
in a manner consistent with the purpose of the trust. 
Sec. 12.  12 MRSA §6141, sub-§5, as amended by PL 1987, c. 694, §2, is 
repealed. 
Sec. 13.  12 MRSA §6171, sub-§5, ¶B, as enacted by PL 2007, c. 574, §1, is 
amended to read: 
B.  If the commissioner determines that for biological reasons a rule adopted under 
this section must take effect prior to final adoption under paragraph A, the 
commissioner may adopt the rule as a routine technical rule pursuant to Title 5, 
chapter 375, subchapter 2-A.  A rule adopted under this paragraph is effective until 
days after the adjournment of the next regular session of the Legislature.  Rules 
adopted pursuant to this paragraph must also be submitted to the Legislature under 
paragraph A.  The commissioner may not adopt rules under Title 5, section 8054 
pursuant to this paragraph. 
This paragraph is repealed July 31, 2012. 
Sec. 14.  12 MRSA §6302-A, sub-§1, as amended by PL 2011, c. 266, Pt. A, §2, 
is further amended to read: 
1.  Tribal exemption; commercial harvesting licenses.  A member of the 
Passamaquoddy Tribe or Penobscot Nation who is a resident of the State is not required 
to hold a state license or permit issued under section 6421, 6501, 6502-A, 6505-A, 
6505-C, 6535, 6601, 6602, 6701, 6702, 6703, 6731, 6745, 6746, 6748, 6748-A, 6748-D, 
6751, 6803 or, 6804 or 6808 to conduct activities authorized under the state license or 
permit if that member holds a valid license issued by the tribe or nation to conduct the 
activities authorized under the state license or permit.  A member of the Passamaquoddy 
Tribe or Penobscot Nation issued a tribal license pursuant to this subsection to conduct 
activities is subject to all laws and rules applicable to a person who holds a state license 
or permit to conduct those activities and to all the provisions of chapter 625, except that 
the member of the tribe or nation: 
A.  May utilize lobster traps tagged with trap tags issued by the tribe or nation in a 
manner consistent with trap tags issued pursuant to section 6431-B.  A member of the 
tribe or nation is not required to pay trap tag fees under section 6431-B if the tribe or 
nation issues that member trap tags; 
B.  May utilize elver fishing gear tagged with elver gear tags issued by the tribe or 
nation in a manner consistent with tags issued pursuant to section 6505-B.  A member 
of the tribe or nation is not required to pay elver fishing gear fees under section 
6505-B if the tribe or nation issues that member elver fishing gear tags; and 
C.  Is not required to hold a state shellfish license issued under section 6601 to obtain 
a municipal shellfish license pursuant to section 6671. 
Sec. 15.  12 MRSA §6374, sub-§2, as enacted by PL 2011, c. 311, §4, is amended 
to read: 
2.  Hearing.  A hearing requested under subsection 1 must be held within 10 30 
business days after receipt by the commissioner of a request for hearing except that a 
hearing may be held more than 10 30 business days after the request if the delay is 
requested by the person requesting the hearing. The hearing must be held in accordance 
with the Maine Administrative Procedure Act, except that: 
A.  Notwithstanding Title 5, section 9057, issues of the hearing are limited to whether 
the person requesting the hearing had a license and whether that person committed a 
violation of marine resources law; and 
B.  Notwithstanding Title 5, section 9061, the decision of the presiding officer under 
Title 5, section 9062 must be made not more than 10 business days after completion 
of the hearing. 
Sec. 16.  12 MRSA §6501, sub-§6, as amended by PL 2011, c. 266, Pt. A, §16, is 
further amended to read: 
6.  Definition.  For the purposes of this chapter, "fish" means all marine finfish 
except Atlantic herring, Atlantic menhaden, whiting, spiny dogfish, alewife river herring, 
Atlantic mackerel, blueback herring, squid, butterfish, scup, black sea bass, smelt and 
shad.  For the purposes of this chapter, "fish" also means all other marine organisms, 
except lobsters, crabs, sea urchins, shellfish, scallops, marine worms, elvers, sea 
cucumbers, eels, shrimp or seaweed. 
Sec. 17.  12 MRSA §6502-A, sub-§1, as enacted by PL 2009, c. 527, §2, is 
amended to read: 
1.  Definition.  As used in this section, "pelagic or anadromous fish" means Atlantic 
herring, Atlantic menhaden, whiting, spiny dogfish, alewife river herring, Atlantic 
mackerel, blueback herring, squid, butterfish, scup, black sea bass, smelt and shad. 
Sec. 18.  12 MRSA §6502-A, sub-§4, as enacted by PL 2009, c. 527, §2, is 
amended to read: 
4.  Exemption.  The licensing requirement under subsection 2 does not apply to a 
person who fishes for, takes, possesses or transports any pelagic or anadromous fish that 
have been taken by speargun, harpoon, minnow trap, hand dip net or hook and line and 
are only for personal use. 
Sec. 19.  12 MRSA §6553-A, as enacted by PL 1983, c. 830, is amended to read: 
§6553-A.  Implements and devices in Washington County waters 
Between May 1st and December 1st of each year, it shall be is unlawful to set or use 
any device, such as fish spawn, grapnel, spear, trawl, weir, gaff, seine, gill net, trap or set 
line on the waters of the Pleasant River and its tributaries in Columbia Falls and Addison, 
in Washington County, above Maine River Bridge, so-called, in Addison, and during that 
closed period no a person may not have in his that person's possession any grapnel, trawl, 
weir, seine, gill net, trap or set line on the waters of the Pleasant River or its tributaries 
within those boundaries.  This section does not apply to the taking of eels by spear from 
those waters during the month of November annually.  This section does not apply to the 
taking of alewives river herring from those waters as authorized by the general law or by 
vote of the Town of Columbia Falls.  Any equipment used in violation of this section 
shall must be confiscated by the commissioner, after final adjudication of any charge 
brought under this section. 
Sec. 20.  12 MRSA §6575-C, sub-§2, as amended by PL 2003, c. 452, Pt. F, §13 
and affected by Pt. X, §2, is further amended to read: 
2.  River herring traps.  A person may not fish for or take elvers within 50 feet of a 
licensed alewife river herring trap. 
Sec. 21.  12 MRSA §6672, as enacted by PL 1977, c. 661, §5, is repealed. 
Sec. 22.  12 MRSA §6731-A, sub-§6, as enacted by PL 2003, c. 593, §2, is 
amended to read: 
6.  Stock assessment.  The department shall conduct stock assessments of the 
mahogany quahog resource beginning no later than January 1, 2005.  The department 
shall report biennially to the joint standing committee of the Legislature having 
jurisdiction over marine resources matters on the progress of the stock assessment and the 
status of the Mahogany Quahog Monitoring Fund starting on January 1, 2006. 
Sec. 23.  12 MRSA §6749-N, last ¶, as amended by PL 2001, c. 327, §10, is 
repealed. 
Sec. 24.  12 MRSA §6851, sub-§2, ¶A, as amended by PL 1999, c. 491, §6 and 
affected by §9, is further amended to read: 
A.  Within or beyond the state limits, buy, sell, process, ship or transport any marine 
species or their parts, except lobsters, and sea urchins and shrimp purchased directly 
from harvesters; 
Sec. 25.  12 MRSA §6851, sub-§2-D, as amended by PL 2009, c. 561, §31, is 
further amended to read: 
2-D.  Wholesale seafood license with shrimp permit.  At the request of the 
applicant, the commissioner shall issue a wholesale seafood license with a shrimp permit.  
A person holding a wholesale seafood license with a shrimp permit may engage in all of 
the activities in subsection 2 and, may buy, shrimp from harvesters and may sell, process, 
ship or transport shrimp. 
Sec. 26.  12 MRSA §6851, sub-§3, as amended by PL 1991, c. 523, §3, is further 
amended to read: 
3.  Exceptions. This section does not apply to smoked herring or alewives river 
herring. 
Sec. 27.  12 MRSA §6955, as enacted by PL 1985, c. 211, is amended to read: 
§6955.  Fishing in waters of Union River Bay and the lower Union River 
It is unlawful to fish with any type of net, fish trap or weir from April 15th to August 
1st in the tidal waters of Union River Bay and the lower Union River north of a line 
drawn from the southernmost tip of Newbury Neck in the Town of Surry and extended 
eastward to the southernmost tip of Oak Point in the Town of Trenton. The closed area 
shall extend extends northward to the downstream side of the Bangor Hydropower 
Company dam in the City of Ellsworth. Fishing for eels or smelts by means of hand dip 
nets, fyke nets or baited eel traps shall be is exempt from this section. The taking of 
alewives river herring under the provisions of section 6131, subsection 5, shall be is 
exempt from this section. 
Sec. 28.  12 MRSA §6977, as enacted by PL 2003, c. 573, §1, is repealed. 
SUMMARY 
This bill eliminates the definition of "alewives," which included both alewives and 
blueback herring, in the marine resources laws and provides instead a definition of "river 
herring," which includes both alewives and blueback herring.  It replaces the term 
"alewife" with "river herring" throughout the marine resources laws. 
It expands the allowable uses of the funds collected through the leasing of fisheries 
allocations held in the permit banking program beyond the administration of the program 
to include providing assistance to the groundfishing industry, consistent with the goals of 
the program. 
It eliminates a number of reports to the Legislature, including: 
1.  A financial report on the Department of Marine Resources Educational Fund; 
2.  A financial report on the Aquaculture Management Fund; 
3.  A financial report on the Aquaculture Monitoring, Research and Development 
Fund; 
4.  A report on the activities of the Maine Coast Environmental Trust Fund; 
5.  A report on the lobster research program within the Department of Marine 
Resources, Bureau of Resource Management; 
6.  A report on the stock status of mahogany quahogs and a financial report on the 
status of the Mahogany Quahog Monitoring Fund; 
7.  A report on the quantity and type of sea urchin licenses sold in each zone in each 
year; and 
8.  A report on the status of all current and planned programs, activities and rules of 
the department pertaining to the conservation or management of state endangered or state 
threatened marine species. 
It eliminates the repeal of a provision that allows the Department of Marine 
Resources to adopt certain rules as routine technical rules, rather than as major 
substantive rules. 
It provides that a member of the Passamaquoddy Tribe or Penobscot Nation who is a 
resident of this State is not required to hold a state license to use a boat for dragging for 
the harvesting of surf clams or fish for or take green crabs or possess, ship or sell green 
crabs if that member holds a valid license issued by the tribe or nation to conduct those 
activities.  
It lengthens the time frame by which a hearing requested under the administrative 
suspension process must be provided from 10 days to 30 days. 
It adds taking by hand dip net to the allowable methods of taking for which an 
individual does not need to obtain a commercial pelagic and anadromous fish license, as 
long as the fish taken are for personal use. 
It eliminates the green crab fencing program. 
It establishes the Marine Recreation Fishing Conservation and Management Fund to 
be used for research and conservation efforts related to the saltwater recreational fishery. 
Currently, the holder of a wholesale seafood license is not allowed to buy, sell, ship 
or transport shrimp unless that person also holds a shrimp permit.  This bill allows a 
holder of a wholesale seafood license to buy, sell, ship or transport shrimp, except for 
shrimp purchased directly from a harvester, unless the person also holds a shrimp permit.