An Act to Amend Provisions Regarding the Scallop Fishery License
Maine Legislature, Session 132, LD 1352
Sponsors: FAULKINGHAM, MOORE
Amends: 12 MRSA §6702, 12 MRSA §6706

Legislative Document
No. 1352
H.P. 875
House of Representatives, April 1, 2025
An Act to Amend Provisions Regarding the Scallop Fishery License 
Apprentice Program, Licensing and Limited Access Areas
Received by the Clerk of the House on March 28, 2025.  Referred to the Committee on 
Marine Resources pursuant to Joint Rule 308.2 and ordered printed pursuant to Joint Rule 401.
ROBERT B. HUNT
Clerk
Presented by Representative FAULKINGHAM of Winter Harbor.
Cosponsored by Senator MOORE of Washington and
Representatives: FARRIN of Jefferson, HEPLER of Woolwich, RIELLY of Westbrook, 
SIMMONS of Waldoboro, THORNE of Carmel.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1.  12 MRSA §6702, sub-§7, as enacted by PL 2019, c. 107, §1, is amended to 
read:
7.  Apprentice license.  The department may adopt rules to establish an apprentice 
program for entry into the scallop fishery that includes an apprentice license for a resident 
who is 18 years of age or older to engage in dragging for scallops under the supervision of 
a person licensed under this section. An apprentice program under this subsection may not 
be conducted through a lottery. The fee for an apprentice scallop dragging license is $250.  
The commissioner shall deposit license fees collected in this subsection into the Scallop 
Research Fund under section 6729‑A.  Rules adopted pursuant to this subsection are routine 
technical rules as defined in Title 5, chapter 375, subchapter 2‑A.
Sec. 2.  12 MRSA §6706, sub-§3, as amended by PL 2019, c. 107, §2, is further 
amended to read:
3.  Scallop license limited entry system.  Notwithstanding subsection 2, the 
commissioner shall establish by rule a limited entry system under which a person who did 
not hold a hand fishing scallop license or a scallop dragging license in the previous calendar 
year may become eligible to obtain that license. A new entrant may be eligible for a hand 
fishing scallop license or a scallop dragging license only upon the termination of an existing 
hand fishing scallop license or a scallop dragging license. The rules for a limited entry 
system must include provisions for the method and administration of the system.  Rules 
adopted pursuant to this subsection are routine technical rules as defined in Title 5, chapter 
375, subchapter 2‑A.
Sec. 3.  12 MRSA §6706, sub-§5, as enacted by PL 2021, c. 27, §1, is repealed.
Sec. 4. Department of Marine Resources to adopt rules regarding limited 
and rotational access to scallop harvesting areas. By January 1, 2026, the 
Department of Marine Resources shall adopt rules that allow all holders of hand fishing 
scallop licenses and scallop dragging licenses equal access to limited access scallop fishing 
areas during the same period and not on a rotational basis.  Rules adopted pursuant to this 
section are routine technical rules under the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 5, chapter 375, 
subchapter 2-A.
Sec. 5. Department of Marine Resources to amend rules to replace scallop 
apprentice program conducted through lottery.  By October 1, 2026, the 
Department of Marine Resources shall adopt rules replacing the apprentice program for 
entry into the scallop fishery, which includes an apprentice license, conducted through a 
lottery with an apprentice program for entry into the scallop fishery, which includes an 
apprentice license, not conducted through a lottery. Rules adopted pursuant to this section 
are routine technical rules under the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 5, chapter 375, 
subchapter 2-A.
Sec. 6.  Effective date. Those sections of this Act that amend the Maine Revised 
Statutes, Title 12, section 6702, subsection 7 and that repeal Title 12, section 6706, 
subsection 5 take effect October 1, 2026.
SUMMARY
This bill amends provisions regarding the scallop fishery by:
1. Prohibiting an apprentice program for entry into the scallop fishery to be conducted 
through a lottery;
2. Allowing a new entrant to be eligible for a hand fishing scallop license or a scallop 
dragging license only upon the termination of an existing hand fishing scallop license or a 
scallop dragging license; and
3. Directing the Department of Marine Resources to adopt rules to allow all holders of 
hand fishing scallop licenses and scallop dragging licenses equal access to limited access 
scallop fishing areas during the same period and not on a rotational basis.