An Act To Amend Maine's Aquaculture Laws
Maine Legislature, Session 126, LD 1605
Committee: Marine Resources
Sponsors: DEVIN, EVANGELOS
Amends: 12 MRSA §6072, 12 MRSA §6072-A, 12 MRSA §6072-C, 12 MRSA §6601, 12 MRSA §6863

Legislative Document 
No. 1605 
H.P. 1177 
House of Representatives, December 30, 2013 
An Act To Amend Maine's Aquaculture Laws 
Submitted by the Department of Marine Resources pursuant to Joint Rule 204. 
Received by the Clerk of the House on December 23, 2013.  Referred to the Committee on 
Marine Resources pursuant to Joint Rule 308.2 and ordered printed pursuant to Joint Rule 401. 
MILLICENT M. MacFARLAND 
Clerk 
Presented by Representative DEVIN of Newcastle. 
Cosponsored by Representative: EVANGELOS of Friendship. 
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows: 
Sec. 1.  12 MRSA §6072, sub-§18 is enacted to read: 
18.  Violation.  A person who violates a condition of a lease under this section 
commits a civil violation for which a fine of not less than $100 for each violation may be 
adjudged. 
Sec. 2.  12 MRSA §6072-A, sub-§24 is enacted to read: 
24.  Violation.  A person who violates a condition of a lease under this section 
commits a civil violation for which a fine of not less than $100 for each violation may be 
adjudged. 
Sec. 3.  12 MRSA §6072-C, sub-§2, as amended by PL 2009, c. 229, §5, is 
further amended to read: 
2.  Licensed activities; criteria.  The holder of a limited-purpose aquaculture license 
may place marine organisms on the ocean bottom without gear or utilize approved 
aquaculture gear in a site in the coastal waters of the State to engage in certain 
aquaculture activities that meet the criteria established in this subsection and in rules 
adopted by the commissioner.  The license also authorizes unlicensed individuals to assist 
the license holder in the licensed activities with the written permission of the license 
holder.  The commissioner, or qualified professional department staff designated in 
writing by the commissioner, may issue a limited-purpose aquaculture license for certain 
aquaculture activities if: 
A.  The proposed activity generates no discharge into coastal waters; 
B.  The applicant proposes to utilize aquaculture gear and markings approved by the 
commissioner in rules adopted pursuant to subsection 8; 
C.  The gear, excluding mooring equipment, does not cover more than 400 square 
feet of area and the gear does not present an unreasonable impediment to safe 
navigation; 
D.  The proposed activity does not unreasonably interfere with the ingress and egress 
of riparian owners; 
E.  The proposed activity does not unreasonably interfere with fishing or other uses of 
the area, taking into consideration the number and density of aquaculture leases and 
licensed aquaculture activities in that area;  
F.  The applicant holds no more than 3 other limited-purpose aquaculture licenses 
issued under this section; and 
G.  The consent of the riparian landowner owner is obtained if the proposed activity 
is located above the mean low-water mark. 
Sec. 4.  12 MRSA §6072-C, sub-§7-A is enacted to read: 
7-A.  Prohibition; taking product.  A person other than a marine patrol officer or 
the license holder, or the license holder's assistant with written permission from the 
license holder, may not take any marine organism product from the area designated on 
the license and marked in accordance with applicable rules. 
Sec. 5.  12 MRSA §6072-C, sub-§10 is enacted to read: 
10.  Reporting requirement; confidentiality.  A holder of a limited-purpose 
aquaculture license shall annually submit to the department a seeding and harvesting 
report for the past year and a seeding and harvesting plan for the coming year.  The 
seeding and harvesting reports submitted by a license holder under this subsection are 
considered proprietary information for the purposes of section 6173-A. 
Sec. 6.  12 MRSA §6601, sub-§2-A, as enacted by PL 2007, c. 522, §3, is 
amended 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 shellstock from that license holder's home in the retail trade.  A holder of a 
commercial shellfish license who is also the holder of a lease issued under section 6072 
or 6072-A or that holder's authorized representative may sell such shellstock from the 
holder's lease site in the retail trade.  The department shall establish by rule a means to 
identify personnel and authorized representatives 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. 7.  12 MRSA §6863, first ¶, as enacted by PL 1991, c. 876, §2, is amended 
to read: 
A person may not grow cultchless American oysters in the State unless licensed 
under this section, except that a person who is the holder of a lease issued under section 
6072, 6072-A or 6072-B or a license issued under section 6072-C is not required to 
obtain a cultchless American oyster growers license. 
SUMMARY 
This bill makes a number of changes to Maine's aquaculture laws, including creating 
a violation provision for aquaculture leases and limited-purpose leases and clarifying that 
holders of limited-purpose aquaculture licenses may place marine organisms on the ocean 
bottom without gear and that the product associated with the license is protected.  It 
creates a reporting requirement for limited-purpose aquaculture license holders.  It 
provides that lease holders may sell their product from their lease sites in the retail trade.  
It creates an exemption from the requirement to have a cultchless American oyster 
growers license for those individuals who hold an aquaculture lease or limited-purpose 
aquaculture license.