An Act To Ensure Maine's Elver Fishermen Can Fully Access Maine's Elver Resource
Maine Legislature, Session 127, LD 0353
Committee: Marine Resources
Sponsors: PIERCE, BATTLE, HAWKE, SAWICKI, TUELL, BAKER, LANGLEY, MIRAMANT
Amends: 12 MRSA §6404-H, 12 MRSA §6505-A, 12 MRSA §6575-B

Legislative Document 
No. 353 
H.P. 240 
House of Representatives, February 10, 2015 
An Act To Ensure Maine's Elver Fishermen Can Fully Access 
Maine's Elver Resource 
(EMERGENCY) 
Reference to the Committee on Marine Resources suggested and ordered printed. 
ROBERT B. HUNT 
Clerk 
Presented by Representative PIERCE of Dresden. 
Cosponsored by Representatives: BATTLE of South Portland, HAWKE of Boothbay Harbor, 
McCREIGHT of Harpswell, SAWICKI of Auburn, TUELL of East Machias, Senators: 
BAKER of Sagadahoc, LANGLEY of Hancock, MIRAMANT of Knox. 
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 high value per pound for elvers in recent years has resulted in 
economic benefit for the State of Maine and Maine's elver fishermen; and 
Whereas, the statewide elver quota for the 2014 fishing season was 11,749 pounds; 
and 
Whereas, Maine elver fishermen harvested only 9,688 pounds of elvers during the 
2014 fishing season; and 
Whereas, the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission reduced Maine's elver 
quota by an amount equivalent to the difference between the elver quota and the amount 
actually harvested during the 2014 fishing season; and 
Whereas, the Department of Marine Resources must act quickly to ensure Maine 
fishermen can fully access Maine's elver resource in future fishing seasons; 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, 
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows: 
Sec. 1.  12 MRSA §6404-H, as amended by PL 2013, c. 49, §4, is further amended 
to read: 
§6404-H.  Suspension or revocation based on conviction of an elver fishing license 
offense 
The commissioner shall suspend or revoke a person's eligibility for the elver lotteries 
lottery under section 6505-A, subsection 2-B 2-C if the person is convicted of an offense 
in violation of section 6505-A, subsection 1. 
1.  First offense.  For a first offense, the commissioner shall suspend the person's 
eligibility for the elver lotteries lottery under section 6505-A, subsection 2-B 2-C for one 
year. 
2.  Second offense.  For a 2nd offense, the commissioner shall permanently revoke 
the person's eligibility for the elver lotteries lottery under section 6505-A, subsection 2-B 
2-C. 
Sec. 2.  12 MRSA §6505-A, sub-§2, ¶F, as enacted by PL 2011, c. 549, §3, is 
amended to read: 
F.  Becomes eligible to obtain an elver fishing license pursuant to the elver lotteries 
lottery under subsection 2-B 2-C. 
Sec. 3.  12 MRSA §6505-A, sub-§2-B, as amended by PL 2013, c. 301, §9, is 
repealed. 
Sec. 4.  12 MRSA §6505-A, sub-§2-C is enacted to read: 
2-C.  Elver lottery.  The commissioner shall establish an elver fishing license lottery 
under which a person who did not hold an elver fishing license in the previous calendar 
year may become eligible to obtain that license. 
A.  The elver fishing license lottery must be held on or before February 15th of each 
calendar year beginning in 2016. 
B.  In order to be eligible for the elver fishing license lottery, a person must submit a 
lottery application together with a $25 nonrefundable application fee no later than 
January 15th of the same calendar year as the lottery. 
C.  A person may submit no more than one elver fishing license lottery application 
per lottery year. 
The commissioner shall adopt rules no later than December 31, 2015 to implement the 
elver fishing license lottery. The rules must include provisions for the method and 
administration of the lottery.  Rules adopted under this subsection are routine technical 
rules pursuant to Title 5, chapter 375, subchapter 2-A. 
Application fees collected under this subsection must be deposited in the Eel and Elver 
Management Fund established in section 6505-D. 
Sec. 5.  12 MRSA §6505-A, sub-§3-A, ¶¶B and C, as enacted by PL 2013, c. 
485, §7, are amended to read: 
B.  Establish the amount of the overall annual quota under paragraph A that is 
allocated to persons licensed under this section and specify a formula to establish 
individual quotas for persons licensed under this section.  The formula may take into 
account the amount of elvers a person licensed under this section lawfully harvested 
in previous seasons based on final harvesting reports.  The rules must specify the date 
by which harvester reports are considered final for the purpose of determining 
individual quotas; and 
C.  Provide, in accordance with section 6302-B, that 21.9% of the overall annual 
quota under paragraph A is allocated to the federally recognized Indian tribes in the 
State and establish the amount of that portion of the overall annual quota allocated to 
the Passamaquoddy Tribe, the Penobscot Nation, the Houlton Band of Maliseet 
Indians and the Aroostook Band of Micmacs.; and 
Sec. 6.  12 MRSA §6505-A, sub-§3-A, ¶D is enacted to read: 
D.  Provide for the transferability of individual quotas among persons licensed under 
this section. 
Sec. 7.  12 MRSA §6575-B, sub-§2-B, ¶A, as enacted by PL 1999, c. 534, §5, is 
amended to read: 
A.   A person who is issued an elver fishing license pursuant to section 6505-A, 
subsection 2, paragraph C may not immerse elver fishing gear other than the types 
and amounts of gear the person was authorized to immerse during the previous elver 
fishing season, except that a person may surrender the authority to use an elver fyke 
net in order to use an elver dip net.  Beginning January 1, 2016, a person may select, 
as part of that person's license application, which gear type the person will use for the 
entire elver fishing season that calendar year. 
Sec. 8.  Rulemaking to implement selection of gear type.  The Commissioner 
of Marine Resources shall complete rulemaking to implement the allowance of selection 
of gear type by elver fishermen pursuant to the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 12, section 
6575-B by the start of the 2016 elver fishing season. Rules adopted to implement this 
allowance are routine technical rules pursuant to Title 5, chapter 375, subchapter 2-A. 
Sec. 9.  Rulemaking to implement transferable quotas.  The Commissioner 
of Marine Resources shall complete rulemaking to implement transferability of individual 
quotas for elvers pursuant to the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 12, section 6505-A, 
subsection 3-A, paragraph D by the start of the 2016 elver fishing season. During the 
rulemaking process, the commissioner shall consider, without limitation, the following: 
1.  Among which elver fishermen may individual quotas be transferred; 
2.  Whether new participants should enter the elver fishery by purchasing individual 
quotas or if transfer should be limited to existing elver licensees only; 
3.  Whether transfers should be documented before the beginning of the elver fishing 
season to support enforcement efforts by the Department of Marine Resources; 
4.  What type of ownership interests in individual quotas may be transferred; 
5.  Whether owner-operator restrictions should be imposed on transfers of individual 
quotas; and 
6.  Whether caps on total individual quota ownership should be imposed to prevent 
unfair concentration of ownership of individual quotas. 
Rules adopted to implement the transferability of individual quotas for elvers are 
routine technical rules pursuant to Title 5, chapter 375, subchapter 2-A. 
Emergency clause.  In view of the emergency cited in the preamble, this 
legislation takes effect when approved. 
SUMMARY 
This bill amends Maine's elver licensing laws to provide for the selection of elver 
gear types by elver fishermen, to be implemented via rulemaking before the 2016 elver 
fishing season. Additionally, this bill amends Maine's individual elver quota system to 
provide for transferability of individual quotas, to be implemented via rulemaking before 
the 2016 elver fishing season.