CHAPTER 466

H.P. 520 - L.D. 703

An Act To Change the Options for a Lobster Management Zone

and To Change Entry Criteria for Noncommercial Licensees

Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:

Sec. 1. 12 MRSA §6421, sub-§3-A, ¶F, as enacted by PL 1995, c. 568, §1, is amended to read:

F. A noncommercial lobster and crab fishing license authorizes the license holder to engage in the licensed activities under subsection 2-A. A person issued a noncommercial lobster and crab fishing license may not submerge at any one time more than 5 lobster traps in the coastal waters of the State. At the time a noncommercial lobster and crab fishing license is issued or renewed, the applicant or license holder shall declare the vessel that will be used to conduct lobster and crab fishing activities under that license.__The license holder's trap tags are allocated to that vessel, pursuant to the license.__The department is not authorized to issue more than 10 noncommercial trap tags to the declared vessel, regardless of the number of noncommercial license holders fishing from that vessel.

Sec. 2. 12 MRSA §6446, sub-§1-A, as enacted by PL 1999, c. 508, §1, is amended to read:

1-A. Declared lobster zone. A person shall declare on an