Sec. 1. 12 MRSA §6431-A, as amended by PL 1997, c. 19, §1, is repealed and the following enacted in its place:

§6431-A. Trap limit

1.__Limit.__Unless permitted by a trap limit established by referendum and adopted under section 6446, the holder of a Class I, Class II or Class III license issued under section 6421 may not submerge more than 1,200 traps.__Effective January 1, 2000 the trap limit is 800.

Sec. 2. 12 MRSA §6431-D, as amended by PL 1997, c. 19, §3, is repealed.

Sec. 3. 12 MRSA §6447, sub-§5, as amended by PL 1995, c. 568, §7, is further amended to read:

5. Council authority. Upon approval in a referendum under subsection 6, a lobster management policy council may propose to the commissioner rules for a zone to place the following limitations on lobster and crab fishing license holders that fish in that zone, provided the proposed limitations are equal to or stricter than the limitations under section 6431-A, 6431-D, 6439, 6439-A or 6440:

A. The number of lobster traps fished and the time periods allowed for complying with that number;

B. The number of lobster traps allowed on a trawl; and

C. The time of day when lobster fishing may occur.

SUMMARY

Current law requires the Commissioner of Marine Resources to adopt rules, including the number of lobster traps that may be fished, for the lobster management zones following approval at referendum of rules for those zones.

This bill removes contradictory language from the statutes regarding the allowable number of lobster traps that may be fished.