Sec. 1. 12 MRSA §6959 is enacted to read:

§6959.__Mussel dragging in certain Hancock County and Washington

County waters

1.__Prohibition.__It is unlawful between April 1st and October 31st, both days inclusive, for a person to drag for mussels or to spread mussels landward of a line beginning at the southern tip of Bois Bubert Island in the town of Milbridge, Washington County; thence southwesterly to Petit Manan Point; thence from a point on the west shore of Petit Manan Point, a line westerly to the southernmost point of The Castle; thence to the southernmost point of Eastern Island in the town of Steuben, Washington County; thence to the southernmost point of Sally Island, Hancock County; thence to the southernmost point of Outer Bar Island; thence to the southernmost point of Cranberry Point in the town of Corea, Hancock County; thence southwesterly to Little Moose Island in the town of Winter Harbor; thence southwesterly to Otter Point on Mount Desert Island, Hancock County.

2.__Exception.__This section does not apply to a person who holds an aquaculture lease under section 6072 for the purpose of growing or harvesting mussels within the area described in subsection 1.

SUMMARY

This bill prohibits a person from dragging for mussels from April 1st to October 31st in certain waters in Hancock County and Washington County. It exempts from this prohibition people who possess aquaculture leases to grow or harvest mussels in those waters.