An Act To Define the Intertidal Zone for the Management and Enforcement of Shellfish Conservation Ordinances
Sec. 1. 12 MRSA §6671, sub-§3, ¶A, as amended by PL 2007, c. 494, §1, is further amended to read:
(1) Regulate or prohibit the possession of shellfish;
(2) Fix the amount of shellfish that may be taken;
(3) Provide for protection from shellfish predators;
(4) Authorize the municipal officials to open and close flats under specified conditions; and
(5) Specify areas of the intertidal zone in which the dragging of mussels may be limited to the degree necessary to support a municipal shellfish conservation program.
Sec. 2. 12 MRSA §6671, as amended by PL 2013, c. 301, §14; c. 468, §31; and c. 517, §1, is further amended by adding at the end a new paragraph to read:
For the purposes of this section, "intertidal zone" means the shores, flats or other land between the high-water mark and the extreme low-water mark.
summary
This bill amends the law regarding municipal shellfish conservation programs to clarify that the intertidal zone extends from the high-water mark to the extreme low-water mark and that the shellfish conservation ordinances apply only within the intertidal zones of municipalities.