An Act Regarding Size Requirements for Soft-shell Clams and the Creation of a Spat Collection Permit
Maine Legislature, Session 129, LD 0960
Committee Amendment CA_A_H177 (House)
Amends: 12 MRSA §6671

COMMITTEE AMENDMENT "!}" to H.P. 715, L.D. 960, Bill, "An Act 
Regarding Size Requirements for Soft-shell Clams and the Creation of a Spat Collection 
Permit" 
Amend the bill by striking out the title and substituting the following: 
'An Act To Allow Municipalities with Municipal Shellfish Conservation Ordinances 
To Establish Minimum and·Maximum Size Limits for Shellfish That Are at Least as 
Strict as Those Limits Established by the State' 
Amend the bill by striking out everything after the enacting clause and inserting the 
following: 
'Sec. 1. 12 MRSA §6671, sub-§3, 1A, 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; aHd 
(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;'; 
(6) Establish a minimum size limit for possession of shellfish regulated in the 
ordinance, as long as those size limits are as sttict or stricter than any minimum 
size limit set in this chapter· or by rule, except that an ordinance must establish 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
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COMMITTEE AMENDMENT"~" to H.P. 715, L.D. 960 
minimum size limits for possession of soft-shell clams that are at least as strict as 
those limits established in section 6681; and 
(7) Establish a maximum size limit for possession of shellfish regulated in the 
ordinance, as long as those size limits are as strict or stricter than any maximum 
size limit set in this chapter or by rule. 
Sec. 2. 12 MRSA §6671, sub-§3, 18, as enacted by PL 2001, c. 188, §2, is 
repealed. 
Sec. 3. 12 MRSA §6671, sub-§8, ,rD is enacted to read: 
D. Enforcement by the municipality of any provision adopted by a municipality 
pursuant to this section may occur only in the municipality in which the shellfish is 
harvested.' 
Amend the bill by relettering or renumbering any nonconsecutive Part letter or 
section number to read consecutively. 
SUMMARY 
This amendment replaces the bill, which is a concept draft, and the title. It specifies 
that a municipality with a municipal shellfish conservation ordinance may establish 
minimum or maximum size limits on shellfish regulated by the ordinance as long as those 
limits established are no less stringent than any minimum or maximum size limit set in 
law or rule, except it requires that an ordinance must establish minimum size limits for 
soft-shell clams that are at least as strict as those limits established in the Maine Revised 
Statutes, Title 12, section 6681. Lastly, it also clarifies that enforcement of any provision 
adopted in any ordinance is enforceable only in the municipality in which the harvesting 
of the shellfish occurs. 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT