Sec. 1. 12 MRSA §6575-B, sub-§6 is enacted to read:

6.__Gear marking.__It is unlawful for a person to immerse an elver fyke net or Sheldon eel trap unless the locations of the net or trap and all associated lines and anchors are marked in a manner that make the locations clearly visible to the operator of a vessel.

Sec. 2. 12 MRSA §6575-C, sub-§3-A is enacted to read:

3-A.__Minimum channel opening.__Notwithstanding subsection 3, it is unlawful for a person to place an elver fyke net or Sheldon eel trap and any associated lines or anchors in the middle portion of a river, brook, stream or other watercourse that can be navigated by a vessel.__For the purposes of this subsection, "middle portion" means a section of a river, brook, stream or other watercourse that is 30 feet in width, as measured between the banks of the watercourse at high tide.

SUMMARY

This bill prohibits a person from setting an elver fyke net or Sheldon eel trap in the middle portion of a river, brook, stream or other watercourse that can be navigated by a vessel. The "middle portion" is defined as a 30-foot-wide middle section of a watercourse, as measured at high tide.

The bill also requires a person who sets an elver fyke net or Sheldon eel trap to mark the locations of the net or trap and all associated lines and anchors so that the locations are clearly visible to the operator of a vessel.