Sec. 4. 12 MRSA §7901-A, sub-§5, ¶A, as enacted by PL 2001, c. 421, Pt. B, §88 and affected by Pt. C, §1, is amended to read:

A. Failure to have license or permit as described in section 7371, subsection 3, as it applies to section 7202, subsection 1; section 7203, subsection 1; section 7204, subsection 1; and section 7206 is a Class E crime, except that, notwithstanding Title 17-A, section 1301, the fine may not be less than $1,000 nor more than $10,000.

Sec. 5. 12 MRSA §7901-A, sub-§10, ¶B is enacted to read:

B.__Possession of fish in violation of section 7604-A is a Class E crime.

Emergency clause. In view of the emergency cited in the preamble, this Act takes effect when approved.

SUMMARY

This bill requires that any fish legally taken from inland waters must either be released alive into the waters from which it was taken or immediately killed and makes possession of live fish in violation of this requirement a Class E crime.

This bill requires the suspension for at least one year of a person's fishing license if that person possesses live fish in violation of laws governing possession of live fish or introduces fish into inland waters without a permit in violation of the laws governing the transportation, importation and possession of live fish or gametes.