8. Trap tag limit. A person who is issued a Class I, Class II or Class III lobster and crab fishing license for the first time after meeting the requirements of the apprentice program under section 6422 and whose license identifies a limited-entry zone as that person's declared lobster zone may not be issued trap tags in a number greater than the average number of trap tags purchased by license holders in the zone for the previous year.__ In years following the initial licensing year, the license holder may be issued no more than a 10% increase in trap tags from the number of trap tags issued for the previous licensing year.

9. Exception. Notwithstanding subsection 4, a person who holds a Class I lobster and crab fishing license and who is under 18 years of age or is 70 years of age or older may declare any zone as that person's declared lobster zone.

Sec. 3. Report. The Lobster Advisory Council shall report to the Joint Standing Committee on Marine Resources by February 1, 2000 on methods to limit effort in the lobster fishery for the purpose of conserving the lobster resource. The Lobster Advisory Council, in consultation with the lobster management policy councils and members of the lobster management zones, shall consider methods to control effort and the potential impacts of those methods on traditional fishing practices. Methods to be considered may include, but are not limited to, the following: establishing a tiered license program; providing for the transfer of a license to a family member; increasing license and trap tag fees; and instituting more severe penalties for violations of laws relating to the lobster resource.

SUMMARY

This bill implements one of the recommendations of the Lobster Advisory Council regarding limited entry into the lobster fishery. It authorizes a lobster management policy council established for a lobster management zone to propose limits on new zone entrants to that zone and authorizes the Commissioner of Marine Resources to adopt rules establishing those limits. The limits would be based on an exit ratio of licenses that were not renewed to new zone entrants.

The bill requires the commissioner to maintain a waiting list of people who have requested to fish a majority of their traps in a limited-entry zone and to authorize people as new zone entrants in chronological order in accordance with the exit ratio.