Sec. 1. 12 MRSA §7153, sub-§4, as enacted by PL 1995, c. 536, Pt. B, §2, is amended to read:

4. Disposition of fees. All fees collected under this section accrue to the Eel and Elver Management Fund established in section 6505-D, except that $42 accrues to the General Fund for each eel pot or eel weir permit issued under this section. This subsection is repealed on January 1, 2001.

Sec. 2. 12 MRSA §7153, sub-§5, as enacted by PL 1995, c. 536, Pt. B, §2, is amended to read:

5. Five-year limited entry; eel weirs. The department may not issue an eel weir permit to a person unless that person possessed a valid eel weir permit for calendar year 1995. This subsection is repealed on January 1, 2001. The department shall adopt routine technical rules pursuant to Title 5, chapter 375, subchapter II-A regarding the issuance of eel weir permits.__The number of weirs and the number of square miles of watersheds in this State fished by eel weirs may not exceed those permitted in calendar year 1995.

SUMMARY

This bill will maintain the Eel and Elver Management Fund as well as the moratorium on permitting eel weirs that was enacted in 1996. This bill authorizes the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife to adopt routine technical rules regulating the issuance of eel weir permits.