An Act To Authorize the Commissioner of Marine Resources To Limit the Number of Shrimp Licenses That May Be Used in Certain Seasons
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1. 12 MRSA §6804, sub-§2, as amended by PL 2003, c. 248, §10, is further amended to read:
2. Licensed activities. The Except as limited pursuant to subsection 2-A, the holder of a commercial northern shrimp license may fish for or take shrimp or possess, ship, transport or sell northern shrimp that the license holder has taken. A license issued under subsection 7, paragraph B or C also authorizes unlicensed crew members aboard the vessel declared by the license holder to engage in these activities.
Sec. 2. 12 MRSA §6804, sub-§2-A is enacted to read:
2-A. Licenses limited. The commissioner may establish by rule a system to limit the number of commercial licenses that may be used to fish for or take northern shrimp or possess, ship, transport or sell northern shrimp during a calendar year but only for a calendar year in which the total allowable catch established for Maine by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission is less than 2,000 metric tons. Rules adopted pursuant to this subsection are routine technical rules pursuant to Title 5, chapter 375, subchapter 2-A.
SUMMARY
This bill authorizes the Commissioner of Marine Resources to adopt rules to establish a system by which the use of commercial northern shrimp licenses may be limited in a season when the total allowable catch is less than 2,000 metric tons.