An Act to Create a Limited-purpose License for Aquaculture
Maine Legislature, Session 132, LD 2025
Sponsors: RIELLY
Amends: 12 MRSA §6072, 12 MRSA §6072-E, 12 MRSA §6072-F

Legislative Document
No. 2025
H.P. 1355
House of Representatives, December 5, 2025
An Act to Create a Limited-purpose License for Aquaculture 
Nursery and Husbandry Activities and to Clarify the Aquaculture 
Lease Amendment Process
Submitted by the Department of Marine Resources pursuant to Joint Rule 203.
Received by the Clerk of the House on December 3, 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 RIELLY of Westbrook.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1.  12 MRSA §6072, sub-§13, ¶G, as amended by PL 2021, c. 52, §8, is 
repealed.
Sec. 2.  12 MRSA §6072-E is enacted to read:
§6072-E.  Limited-purpose license for aquaculture nursery and husbandry activities
1. License required.  A person may not engage in the activities authorized under this 
section without a current limited-purpose license for aquaculture nursery and husbandry 
activities or a lease issued under this Part authorizing the activities. For the purposes of this 
section, "husbandry" means specific activities designed to care for, manage and improve 
marine organisms. "Husbandry" is distinct from culture, which includes the production and 
development of marine organisms.   
2. Licensed activities.  The holder of a limited-purpose license for aquaculture nursery 
and husbandry activities may:
A. Place marine organisms in early life stages, before sale to another person or before 
further deployment to an aquaculture site pursuant to section 6072, 6072-A, 6072-B or 
6072-C, in aquaculture gear or equipment at a site below the mean low-water mark in 
the coastal waters of the State to engage in certain aquaculture activities that meet the 
criteria established in subsection 3 and in rules adopted by the commissioner; 
B. Conduct husbandry activities specific in nature and short in duration, before further 
deployment to an aquaculture site pursuant to section 6072, 6072-A or 6072-B or a 
license pursuant to 6072-C, using aquaculture gear or equipment at a site below the 
mean low-water mark in the coastal waters of the State to engage in certain aquaculture 
activities that meet the criteria established in subsection 3 and in rules adopted by the 
commissioner; and
C. Deploy marine organisms in early life stages to a site other than the aquaculture site 
identified in the lease pursuant to section 6072, 6072-A, 6072-B or 6072-C if the lease 
holder is a municipal shellfish management committee established pursuant to section 
6671 or a municipal officer for a municipal project.
3. Criteria.  The commissioner, or staff designated in writing by the commissioner, 
may issue a limited-purpose license for aquaculture nursery and husbandry activities if:  
A. The proposed activity generates no discharge into coastal waters;
B. The applicant has an existing aquaculture lease pursuant to section 6072, 6072-A or 
6072-B or a license pursuant to 6072-C, unless the applicant is a municipal shellfish 
management committee established pursuant to section 6671 or a municipal officer for 
a municipal project;
C. The applicant is using a source of stock approved by the commissioner; 
D. The applicant proposes to use aquaculture gear or equipment approved by the 
commissioner under the rules adopted pursuant to subsection 11; 
E. The gear or equipment, excluding mooring equipment, does not cover more than 
1,600 square feet of area and does not present an unreasonable impediment to safe 
navigation;   
F. The proposed activity does not unreasonably interfere with the ingress and egress of 
riparian owners; and
G. The proposed activity does not unreasonably interfere with fishing or other uses of 
the area taking into consideration the number and density of aquaculture leases and 
licensed aquaculture activities in that area.
4. License limitations.  The issuance of a limited-purpose license for aquaculture 
nursery and husbandry activities does not constitute the issuance of:
A. A lease of an area in, on or under the coastal waters of the State; or
B. Any other necessary permit or license from a state, federal or municipal authority 
required for a specified activity. 
5. Preference.  If a person applies to lease an area that is the subject of a limited-
purpose license for aquaculture nursery and husbandry activities, the department shall 
notify the holder of the limited-purpose license for aquaculture nursery and husbandry 
activities. If the holder of the limited-purpose license for aquaculture nursery and 
husbandry activities documents to the department that that holder wants to lease the area, 
preference must be given as follows:  
A. First, to the person that holds the limited-purpose license for aquaculture nursery 
and husbandry activities in the area and that submitted an application for a lease under 
section 6072 for the area; and 
B. Second, to the person that applied to lease the area but does not hold a limited-
purpose license for aquaculture nursery and husbandry activities in the area. 
6. Application.  The application for a limited-purpose license for aquaculture nursery 
and husbandry activities must:  
A. Be written on forms supplied by the commissioner;
B. Identify the species to be cultivated;
C. Describe the proposed source of organisms to be grown using the approved 
aquaculture gear or equipment;
D. Describe the location of the approved aquaculture gear or equipment deployment 
by coordinates or metes and bounds;
E. Include a clear set of plans that includes at a minimum:  
(1) A location plan with an overhead plan view showing the aquaculture gear and 
equipment deployed at the proposed location. The area occupied by the gear and 
equipment must be drawn to scale on the plan. The location plan must include a 
north arrow, ebb and flood directions, any federal or local channels and 
anchorages, any nearby structures and property lines for all riparian owners within 
feet; and  
(2) Two gear and equipment drawings, one with an overhead plan view and one 
with a cross-sectional elevation view of the approved aquaculture gear and 
equipment proposed to be used. The gear and equipment drawings must be clearly 
dimensioned and include, at a minimum, mean high-water and mean low-water 
marks and the dimensions, profiles and materials used in the construction, 
deployment and securing of the approved aquaculture gear and equipment; 
F. Include documentation that riparian owners within 300 feet of the proposed activity 
have been notified of the license application and proposed activity; and 
G. Include documentation that the municipality has been notified of the license 
application.
License sites that are used for nursery and husbandry activities must also include in the 
application a detailed description of specific activities to be conducted on the site and the 
duration a marine organism will be located at the site for specific nursery and husbandry 
activities. The maximum duration may not exceed 6 months. 
7. Fee.  Except as provided in subsection 8, the application fee for a limited-purpose 
license for aquaculture nursery and husbandry activities is $400. The application fee is 
nonrefundable. All fees collected under this subsection must be deposited in the 
Aquaculture Research Fund established in section 6081. 
8. Fee exemptions.  The commissioner may not assess an application fee for a limited-
purpose license for aquaculture nursery and husbandry activities that is issued to:
A. A municipal shellfish management committee established pursuant to section 6671, 
if the organisms cultured on the license site are not used for commercial purposes; or
B. A municipal officer for a municipal project, if the organisms cultured on the license 
site are not used for commercial purposes.
9. Prohibition; molesting gear.  A person other than a marine patrol officer, an 
aquaculture inspector authorized by the commissioner or the licensee may not utilize, raise, 
lift, transfer, possess or in any manner molest any approved aquaculture gear or equipment 
that is deployed under a current limited-purpose license for aquaculture nursery and 
husbandry activities.
10. Prohibition; taking product.  A person other than a marine patrol officer, an 
aquaculture inspector authorized by the commissioner or the licensee may not take any 
marine organism grown on the license site in accordance with applicable rules. 
11. Rules.  The commissioner shall adopt rules to implement this section, including, 
but not limited to, rules establishing the type of gear and equipment that is approved 
aquaculture gear and equipment for the purposes of a limited-purpose license for 
aquaculture nursery and husbandry activities, minimum standards for maintaining gear and 
equipment, methods of gear and equipment identification and license application and 
review procedures. The commissioner may adopt rules to limit the period of the year during 
which license applications may be submitted. Rules adopted under this subsection are 
routine technical rules pursuant to Title 5, chapter 375, subchapter 2-A. 
12. Violation; restitution.  A person who violates this section commits a civil violation 
for which a fine of not less than $100 for each violation may be adjudged. If a person 
violates subsection 9 by cutting any lines or marker buoys or intentionally damaging 
approved aquaculture gear and equipment, the court shall also: 
A. Order that person to pay to the owner of the approved aquaculture gear and 
equipment that was cut or damaged an amount equal to twice the replacement value of 
the gear and equipment that was lost or damaged as a result of the cutting or damaging 
action; and 
B. Direct that person to provide the commissioner, upon making full payment as 
ordered by the court, proof of that payment. 
13. Reporting requirement; confidentiality.  A holder of a limited-purpose license 
for aquaculture nursery and husbandry activities shall annually submit to the department a 
cultivation report for the past year. Information provided in cultivation reports submitted 
by a license holder under this subsection is considered confidential information reported to 
the commissioner pursuant to section 6173.
Sec. 3.  12 MRSA §6072-F is enacted to read:
§6072-F.  Lease amendments
1. Lease amendment; prohibition.  For the purposes of this section, "lease 
amendment" means the authorized addition of species, gear, equipment and structure and 
resultant modifications to operations to an existing lease issued under section 6072 or 
6072-A.  A lease amendment is not an adjudicatory proceeding. A lease issued under 
section 6072-A for commercial research and development may not be amended. An 
existing lease that does not allow discharge may not be amended to include operational 
modifications that would result in the reclassification that allows discharge by the 
commissioner pursuant to the lease. All fees collected under this section must be deposited 
in the Aquaculture Management Fund established in section 6072-D. 
2. Species.  The holder of a lease under this subchapter must apply to the commissioner 
to add a specific species and make resultant operational modifications to the holder's lease 
site.  The decision by the commissioner to authorize the addition of a species must be based 
on factors, including, but not limited to, the source of stock. The commissioner may not 
authorize the addition of a species that would cause the holder of the lease to violate any 
existing condition of the lease. The commissioner shall establish by rule the process for 
adding species to a lease. The commissioner shall establish by rule a nonrefundable fee for 
applying to add species to a lease that may not exceed $200. 
3. Gear.  The holder of a lease under this subchapter must apply to the commissioner 
to add different gear categories and make resultant operational modifications to the lease 
site if the holder has held the lease for at least one year and the lease included authorization 
for the bottom gear category only. The commissioner may not authorize the addition of 
gear categories that would cause the holder of the lease to violate any existing condition of 
the lease. Leases that were originally authorized without gear are not eligible to apply to 
add gear under this subsection. The commissioner shall establish by rule the process for 
adding different gear categories to a lease. The commissioner shall establish by rule a 
nonrefundable fee for applying to add different gear categories to a lease that may not 
exceed $500. The rules must provide for notice of proposed additions of different gear 
categories to the public, riparian landowners and the municipality in which the lease is 
located and an opportunity to submit written comments on the proposal. The replacement 
of previously authorized gear does not require a lease amendment as long as the 
replacement gear is substantially similar to the previously authorized gear. The 
commissioner may not grant a lease amendment under this subsection that unreasonably 
interferes with the conditions under section 6072, subsection 7-A.
4. Equipment; structure.  The holder of a lease under this subchapter must apply to 
the commissioner to add equipment or structure and make resultant operational 
modifications to the holder's lease site if the holder has held the lease for at least one year 
and the lease did not authorize equipment or structure. The commissioner may not authorize 
the addition of equipment or structure that would cause the holder of the lease to violate 
any existing condition of the lease. The commissioner shall establish by rule the process 
for adding equipment or structure to a lease. The commissioner shall also establish by rule 
a nonrefundable fee for applying to add equipment or structure to a lease that may not 
exceed $500. The rules must provide for notice of proposed additions of equipment or 
structure to the public, riparian landowners and the municipality in which the lease is 
located and an opportunity to submit written comments on the proposal. The replacement 
of previously authorized equipment or structure does not require a lease amendment as long 
as the replacement is substantially similar to the previously authorized equipment or 
structure. The commissioner may not grant a lease amendment under this subsection that 
unreasonably interferes with the conditions under section 6072, subsection 7-A.
5. Temporary change in operation.  The commissioner may authorize the holder of 
a lease under this subchapter to temporarily modify the operational plans approved under 
the lease when the modifications are intended to preemptively address environmental 
conditions that may impact public health or the health of the cultured species on a lease 
site. An authorization may be granted to ensure compliance with department-initiated 
action. The department shall provide written notice of the temporary operational 
modifications to the impacted lease holder. The commissioner shall establish by a rule a 
process by which temporary operational modifications may be authorized.
6.  Rules.  The commissioner shall adopt rules to implement this section. Rules adopted 
pursuant to this subsection are routine technical rules as defined in Title 5, chapter 375, 
subchapter 2-A.  
SUMMARY
This bill establishes a limited-purpose license for aquaculture nursery and husbandry 
activities and a process for amending certain types of aquaculture leases to include new 
species, gear, equipment and structure.