Opinion ID: 2550152
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Immediate Liberation Defense

Text: [¶ 26] Thomas argues that he could not be guilty of possession of oversize lobsters until he failed to comply with the exception for immediate liberation in section 6431(5). This is an exception to liability for those who immediately liberate[] illegal lobsters alive into the coastal waters when taken. 12 M.R.S. § 6431(5) (2007). [¶ 27] We review factual findings for clear error and the application of the law to those facts de novo. See State v. Reynoso-Hernandez, 2003 ME 19, ¶¶ 10, 11, 816 A.2d 826, 830. [¶ 28] Because the parties stipulated that at least some of the lobsters were banded and in storage in totes, the trial court found that Thomas did not free the lobsters as soon as he found them in the Blue Water's catch and concluded that the defense of immediate liberation did not apply. In the context of the statute's conservation purpose, see Richardson, 285 A.2d at 846-47, we agree and note that the statutory exception is narrowly designed to allow for incidental catch while fishing as long as the lobsters are immediately released alive. [¶ 29] Thomas argues that coastal waters, as used in section 6431(5), means within three miles of the coast, so he could not have violated the prohibition on oversize lobsters until he entered this area and then failed to immediately liberate the illegal lobsters alive. Coastal waters is defined as extending out to the limits of the exclusive economic zone. 12 M.R.S. § 6001(6) (2009). We do not find, as Thomas suggests, that this refers to the inner limit of the EEZ where the EEZ meets Maine's territorial waters. The plain language of the statute clearly refers to the outer limit of the EEZ. Further, the marine resources laws define territorial waters as those waters seaward to the 3-nautical-mile line. 12 M.R.S. § 6001(48-B). We will not interpret coastal waters to obliterate the distinction between these two terms. See Nasberg v. City of Augusta, 662 A.2d 227, 229 (Me.1995).