C.__An individual documents to the commissioner that the individual has held one or more sea urchin dragging licenses for 3 consecutive years and is the owner of more than one vessel.__Under this paragraph, the commissioner may renew each license held by the eligible individual if the vessel named on that license is unchanged from the vessel named on the license in 2000.

Sec. 4. 12 MRSA §6749-N, as amended by PL 1997, c. 685, §1, is further amended to read:

§6749-N. Closed areas; zone identification

Notwithstanding section 6749, it is unlawful for a person to fish for or take sea urchins from:

1. Zone 1. Zone 1, from May 1st to July 31st. For the purposes of this article, "Zone 1" means all coastal waters west of a line beginning at the easternmost point of Fort Point State Park on Cape Jellison then running southwesterly to channel marker #1 south of Sears Island, then running southwesterly to channel marker BW "11" located between Marshall's Point and Bayside in the Town of Northport, then running southwesterly to channel marker #9 east of Great Spruce Head located in the Town of Northport, then running southerly to Graves channel marker northeast of the Town of Camden, then running southeasterly to the Penobscot Bay Buoy east of Rockland harbor, then running southerly to the TB1 whistle southwest of Junken Ledge, then running southeasterly to Red Nun #10 buoy at Foster Ledges, then running due south magnetic to the boundary of the State's coastal waters; and

2. Zone 2. Zone 2, from May 1st to July 31st. For the purpose of this article, "Zone 2" means all coastal waters east of that line established in subsection 1, including all coastal waters of the Penobscot River north of Fort Point State Park.

The commissioner shall report annually to the joint standing committee of the Legislature having subject matter jurisdiction over marine resource matters on the quantity and type of sea urchin licenses sold in each zone in each year.

Sec. 5. 12 MRSA §6749-O, sub-§§2-A and 2-B, as enacted by PL 1997, c. 685, §3, are amended to read:

2-A. License eligibility. The commissioner may not issue a handfishing sea urchin license, a sea urchin dragging license or a sea urchin hand-raking and trapping license to any person for calendar year 1999, 2000 or 2001 unless that person possessed that license in the previous calendar year or becomes eligible to obtain that license pursuant to a lottery limited entry system under subsection 2-B.

2-B. Sea urchin license limited entry system. The commissioner shall establish by rule a lottery limited entry system under which a person who did not hold a handfishing sea urchin license, a sea urchin dragging license or a sea urchin hand-raking and trapping license in the previous calendar year may become eligible to obtain that license in calendar year 1999, 2000 or 2001 for use in a zone established pursuant to section 6749-N. The rules for a lottery limited entry system must include provisions for the method and administration of a lottery the program. The rules may include provisions for a method under which a person may submit more than one entry in a lottery based on the prior calendar years a person held a license that qualify that person for a lottery. Rules adopted pursuant to this subsection are routine technical rules as defined in Title 5, chapter 375, subchapter II-A.

A. Pursuant to section 6749-P, all licenses issued to a person in a calendar year must be for use in the same zone.

B. A person may not enter more than one license lottery during a calendar year.

C. A person is eligible to enter a lottery for a handfishing sea urchin license and a sea urchin hand-raking and trapping license if that person held in the previous calendar year a sea urchin and scallop diving tender license issued under section 6535 that was valid for more than 30 days or if that person held in the previous calendar year a handfishing scallop license issued under section 6701.

D. A person is eligible to enter a lottery for a sea urchin dragging license if that person held in the previous calendar year a commercial fishing license issued under section 6501, a scallop boat license issued under section 6702, a mahogany quahog license issued under section 6731 or a mussel boat license issued under section 6746.

E. Except as provided in paragraph F, the number of persons awarded eligibility in a lottery for a handfishing sea

urchin license, a sea urchin hand-raking and trapping license or a sea urchin dragging license in a zone must be in accordance with the exit ratio for that license in that zone. For the purposes of this paragraph, "exit ratio" means that one person may be awarded eligibility in a license lottery for every 5 persons who held that license in the year prior to the previous calendar year but who did not renew that license in the previous calendar year.

F. The commissioner may hold a combined lottery for sea urchin handfishing licenses and sea urchin hand-raking and trapping licenses in a zone if the exit ratio for those licenses in that zone is reached. For the purposes of this paragraph, "exit ratio" means that one person may be awarded eligibility in a lottery to obtain either a sea urchin handfishing license or a sea urchin hand-raking and trapping license for every 5 persons who held a sea urchin handfishing license or a sea urchin hand-raking and trapping license in the year prior to the previous calendar year but who did not renew the license in the previous calendar year.

Sec. 6. 12 MRSA §6749-P, as amended by PL 1997, c. 685, §4, is further amended to read:

§6749-P. Licenses by zone

A person eligible to purchase a license under section 6749-O may purchase those licenses only for Zone 1 or Zone 2. All of those licenses issued to any one person in any one year must be for the same zone. A person may not change from the zone in which the person harvested sea urchins in the previous calendar year unless the change is authorized in accordance with section 6749-Z. A handfishing sea urchin license, a sea urchin hand- raking and trapping license or a sea urchin dragging license authorizes the licensed activity only in the zone for which it is issued. A sea urchin dragging license must list the documentation or registration number of the vessel to be used by that licensee when dragging. A vessel documentation number or registration number may not be listed on more than one sea urchin boat dragging license.

Sec. 7. 12 MRSA §6749-T, as amended by PL 1997, c. 685, §7, is repealed.

Sec. 8. Effective date. Those sections of this Act that repeal and replace the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 12, section 6748-A, subsections 1 and 2 take effect January 1, 2002. That section of this Act that enacts the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 12, section 6748-A, subsection 2-B takes effect January 1, 2002.

SUMMARY

This bill changes the licensing for sea urchin dragging. Beginning in January 2002, it proposes to license individuals rather than licensing the activities of a boat. It allows for a one-time change to the named individual on a sea urchin dragging license to coincide with the owner of the boat named on that license in 2000. Beginning in January 2002, the bill requires an individual who holds a sea urchin dragging license to be aboard the boat named on that license when fishing for sea urchins. It also makes exemptions for temporary illness or disability on the part of the licensee or temporary changes due to boat accident or mechanical failure. A "grandfathering" exemption is added to allow for a person who currently holds more than one sea urchin dragging license to continue to do so until the current boat named on that license changes.

The bill also changes the sea urchin lottery system to a limited entry system and removes details of the lottery system. It also instructs the Commissioner of Marine Resources to adopt rules to establish a limited entry system for sea urchins.