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PUBLIC LAWS OF MAINE
First Regular Session of the 118th

CHAPTER 19

H.P. 395 - L.D. 540

An Act to Correct Certain Errors and Inconsistencies in Marine Resources Laws

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

     Sec. 1. 12 MRSA §6431-A, sub-§§1 and 2, as enacted by PL 1995, c. 468, §5, are amended to read:

     1. Limit. Except as provided in subsection 2, it is unlawful for the holder of a Class I, Class II or Class III license issued under section 6421 to have submerge more than 1,200 traps submerged in the coastal waters of the State.

     2. Trap limit exception. The holder of a Class I, Class II or Class III license issued under section 6421 who documents to the commissioner that the license holder had submerged an average of more than 1,200 traps submerged in the coastal waters of the State in calendar year 1994 and calendar year 1995 has until March 1, 2003 to reduce that average number of traps to 1,200 or less. At a minimum, the license holder must divide the average number of submerged traps in excess of 1,200 by the number 7 and, starting in calendar year 1996, annually reduce the number of traps by the resulting number.

     Sec. 2. 12 MRSA §6431-D, sub-§1, as enacted by PL 1995, c. 468, §5, is amended to read:

     1. Boat limit. Except as provided in subsection 2, it is unlawful to tend more than 1,200 traps from a boat in the coastal waters of the State.

     Sec. 3. 12 MRSA §6431-D, sub-§2, as amended by PL 1995, c. 568, §3, is further amended to read:

     2. Exception. Two or more holders of Class I, Class II or Class III licenses issued under section 6421 who harvest lobsters from the same boat may collectively tend more than 1,200 traps from that boat if the license holders:

     Sec. 4. 12 MRSA §6451, sub-§1, as amended by PL 1989, c. 455, §3, is further amended to read:

     1. Allocation of license fees. Ten dollars of each $53 $93 fee, $20 of each $186 fee, $30 of each $159 $279 fee and $5 of each $26 $46 fee for each lobster and crab fishing license shall must be allocated to the Lobster Fund, which shall must be used for the purposes of lobster biology research, of propagation of lobsters by liberating seed lobsters and female lobsters in Maine coastal waters and of establishing and supporting lobster hatcheries.

     Sec. 5. 12 MRSA §6501, sub-§6, as amended by PL 1995, c. 536, Pt. A, §6, is further amended to read:

     6. Definition. For the purposes of this chapter, "fish" means all marine finfish, squid and shrimp or other marine animals, except lobsters, crabs, sea urchins, shellfish, scallops, marine worms, elvers or eels.

     Sec. 6. 12 MRSA §6535, sub-§§1 and 2, as amended by PL 1995, c. 530, §1, are further amended to read:

     1. License required. It is unlawful for a person to operate a boat as a platform for the harvesting of sea urchins and scallops by hand, to act as a diving tender on a boat engaged as a platform for the harvesting of sea urchins and scallops by hand or to possess, strip ship, transport or sell scallops or sea urchins unless that person is licensed under this section, section 6701 or section 6748.

     2. Licensed activity. A person licensed under this section may tend divers who harvest sea urchins and scallops by hand and operate a boat as a platform for the harvesting of sea urchins and scallops by hand and may possess, ship, transport and sell sea urchins and scallops harvested by licensed harvesters the tender has tended. A sea urchin and scallop diving tender license does not authorize the holder to harvest sea urchins and scallops.

     Sec. 7. 12 MRSA §6536, sub-§2, as enacted by PL 1995, c. 530, §2, is amended to read:

     2. Licensed activity. A person licensed under this section may tend divers who harvest scallops by hand and operate a boat as a platform for the harvesting of scallops by hand and may possess, ship, transport and sell scallops harvested by licensed harvesters the tender has tended. A scallop diving tender license does not authorize the holder to harvest scallops.

     Sec. 8. 12 MRSA §6851, as amended by PL 1993, c. 740, §§4 and 5, is further amended by repealing and replacing the headnote to read:

§6851. Wholesale seafood license; wholesale seafood license with lobster permit; wholesale seafood license with urchin permit

     Sec. 9. 12 MRSA §6851, sub-§2, ķA, as amended by PL 1991, c. 523, §3, is further amended to read:

Effective June 26, 1997, unless otherwise indicated.

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