An Act To Improve Commercial Production of Shellfish by Allowing Municipalities To Establish Active Municipal Shellfish Management Areas
Maine Legislature, Session 129, LD 1419
Committee: Marine Resources
Sponsors: McCREIGHT
Amends: 12 MRSA §6671

Legislative Document
No. 1419
H.P. 1032
House of Representatives, March 28, 2019
An Act To Improve Commercial Production of Shellfish by 
Allowing Municipalities To Establish Active Municipal Shellfish 
Management Areas
Reference to the Committee on Marine Resources suggested and ordered printed.
ROBERT B. HUNT
Clerk
Presented by Representative McCREIGHT of Harpswell.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1.  12 MRSA §6671, sub-§3, ¶A, as amended by PL 2017, c. 350, §1, is 
further amended to read:
A.  Within any area of the intertidal zone within the municipality, a shellfish 
conservation ordinance may:
(1)  Regulate or prohibit the possession of shellfish;
(2)  Fix the amount of shellfish that may be taken;
(3)  Provide for protection from shellfish predators; 
(4)  Authorize the municipal officials to open and close flats under specified 
conditions; and
(5)  Specify areas of the intertidal zone in which the dragging of mussels may be 
limited to the degree necessary to support a municipal shellfish conservation 
program.; and
(6) In accordance with subsection 3-B, establish active municipal shellfish 
management areas within the intertidal zone where a person licensed under this 
section is permitted by the municipality to employ and develop methods that 
enhance commercial production of shellfish, including but not limited to the use 
of protective netting, traps, cages and boxes.
Sec. 2.  12 MRSA §6671, sub-§3-B is enacted to read:
3-B.  Active municipal shellfish management areas.  A municipality that 
establishes active municipal shellfish management areas in its shellfish conservation 
ordinance shall ensure the following:
A.  Active municipal shellfish management areas do not encompass more than 10% 
of the intertidal zone within the municipality that is regulated by a shellfish 
conservation ordinance;
B.  Only a person authorized by the municipality to engage in permitted activities in 
an active municipal shellfish management area may harvest marine organisms in the 
area;
C.  Each person licensed under this section and authorized by the municipality to 
engage in permitted activities in an active municipal shellfish management area is 
limited to engage in those permitted activities on no more than 2 acres of the 
intertidal zone;
D.  An active municipal shellfish management area is not established in areas closed 
by the commissioner;
E.  Any shellfish harvested in an active municipal shellfish management area 
complies with minimum size requirements;
F.  An active municipal shellfish management area is clearly marked with signs that 
identify that it has been designated as an active municipal shellfish management area 
and that harvesting of marine organisms is restricted to only those persons that have 
been authorized by the municipality; and
G.  Any gear used, such as protective netting, traps, cages and boxes, is no more than 
inches above the sediment.
On an annual basis, a person authorized by the municipality to engage in permitted 
activities in an active municipal shellfish management area shall report any findings and 
landings data to the department.
Sec. 3.  12 MRSA §6671, sub-§10, ¶A, as amended by PL 2005, c. 171, §2, is 
further amended to read:
A.  For harvesting shellfish from an area closed for conservation purposes or for 
harvesting marine organisms in violation of the requirements of an active municipal 
shellfish management area:
(1)  For the first offense by a commercial license holder, a fine of not less than 
$300;
(2)  For subsequent offenses by a commercial license holder, a fine of not less 
than $500 and not more than $1,500;
(3)  For the first offense by a recreational license holder, a fine of not less than 
$100; and
(4)  For subsequent offenses by a recreational license holder, a fine of not less 
than $100 and not more than $500; or
SUMMARY
This bill allows a municipality in its municipal shellfish conservation ordinance to 
establish active municipal shellfish management areas where a person licensed under the 
ordinance may employ and develop methods that enhance commercial production of 
shellfish, which include but are not limited to protective netting, traps, cages and boxes.  
This bill requires that:
1.  Active municipal shellfish management areas do not encompass more than 10% of 
the intertidal zone;
2.  Only a person authorized by the municipality to engage in permitted activities  in 
an active municipal shellfish management area may harvest any marine organisms;
3.  Each person authorized to engage in permitted activities in an active municipal 
shellfish management area is limited to engage in those activities on no more than 2 acres 
of the intertidal zone;
4.  An active municipal shellfish management area may not be established in areas 
closed by the Commissioner of Marine Resources;
5.  Any shellfish harvested in an active municipal shellfish management area must 
comply with minimum size requirements;
6.  An active municipal shellfish management area is clearly marked with signs that 
identify that it has been designated as an active municipal shellfish management area and 
that harvesting of marine organisms is restricted to only those persons that have been 
authorized by the municipality;
7.  Any gear used in an active municipal shellfish management area is no more than 
inches above the sediment; and
8.  A person engaged in permitted activities in an active municipal shellfish 
management area report any findings and landing data to the Department of Marine 
Resources.
This bill specifies that a person that harvests any marine organisms from an active 
municipal shellfish management area in a manner that is not in accordance with law or a 
municipal shellfish conservation ordinance commits a Class D crime and the fines that 
are to be applied are the same as those imposed on a person that harvested shellfish from 
an area closed for conservation purposes that is in current law.