An Act to Amend the Laws
Maine Legislature, Session 132, LD 0044
Committee Amendment CA_A_H344 (House)
Amends: 12 MRSA §6505-A, 12 MRSA §6505-E

COMMITTEE AMENDMENT "A" to H.P. 8, L.D. 44, "An Act to Amend the Laws 
Pertaining to Elver Fishing" 
Amend the bill by striking out all of the emergency preamble. 
Amend the bill by striking out all of section 1. 
Amend the bill by striking out all of section 3 and inserting the following: 
'Sec. 3. 12 MRSA §6505-A, sub-§2, ~' as amended by PL 2017, c. 250, §4, is 
further amended to read: 
F. Becomes eligible to obtain an elver fishing license pursuant to the elver lottery 
under subsection 2-C and who has completed any educational requirements established 
under section 6505-E.' 
Amend the bill by striking out all of section 5 and inserting the following: 
'Sec. 5. 12 MRSA §6505-A, sub-§3-A, as amended by PL 2015, c. 131, §1, and 
PL 2023, c. 369, Pt. A, §4 and affected by §5, is further amended to read: 
3-A. Elver fishing quotas. The commissioner may adopt rules to establish, implement 
and administer an elver individual fishing quota system in order to ensure that the elver 
fishery annual landings do not exceed the overall annual quota established by the Atlantic 
States Marine Fisheries Commission. Prior to allocating any portion of the overall annual 
quota for the State established pursuant to paragraph A. the commissioner may withhold 
up to 1 % of the available overall annual quota. Except as provided in section 6575-L, a 
person issued a license under this section or section 6302-A, subsection 3, paragraph E, 
E-1, F or G may not take, possess or sell elvers in excess of the weight quota allocated to 
that person under the quota system. The rules must: 
A. Establish an overall annual quota for the State; 
B. Establish the amount of the overall annual quota under paragraph A that is allocated 
to persons licensed under this section and specify a f01mula to establish individual 
quotas for persons licensed under this section. The f01mula may take into account the 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
ROS 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT" fr to H.P. 8, L.D. 44 
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 rep01ts 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 Mi'kmaq Nation. 
If persons issued licenses under this section collectively exceed the overall annual quota 
allocated to those persons pursuant to paragraph B, the number of pounds by which the 
license holders exceeded that overall annual quota must be deducted from the following 
year's overall annual quota allocated to persons licensed under this section. If the overage 
exceeds the overall annual quota allocated to persons licensed under this section for the 
following year, the overage must be deducted from the overall annual quota allocated to 
persons licensed under this section in subsequent years until the entire overage has been 
accounted for. 
The commissioner may adopt or amend rules on an emergency basis if immediate action is 
necessary to establish and implement the elver individual fishing quota in advance of the 
beginning of the elver fishing season. 
Rules adopted pursuant to this subsection are routine technical rules as defined in Title 5, 
chapter 375, subchapter 2-A. 
Sec. 6. 12 MRSA §6505-E is enacted to read: 
§6505-E. Elver handling training course 
Prior to the issuance of an elver fishing license, the commissioner may require an 
applicant to complete an educational course that the commissioner determines appropriate 
to provide necessary info11nation regarding the proper handling of elvers to ensure 
survivability.' 
Amend the bill by striking out all of the emergency clause. 
Amend the bill by relettering or renumbering any nonconsecutive Part letter or section 
number to read consecutively. 
SUMMARY 
This amendment removes the emergency preamble and emergency clause from the bill. 
The amendment allows the Commissioner of Marine Resources to require certain 
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applicants for an elver fishing license to complete an educational course and gives the 
commissioner the authority to withhold up to 1 % of the available overall annual elver quota 
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for the State before allocating any portion of the overall annual quota. The amendment also 
removes limits on possession of elvers established by the bill and removes the changes 
regarding the suspension of a license or certificate made by the bill. 
The amendment also removes from the bill the provision permitting an elver fishing 
license holder to whom a fyke net tag is issued to allow another license holder to empty the 
fyke net of the tag holder under the tag holder's supervision. 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT