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Amend the bill by striking out the title and substituting the following:
‘An Act To Further the Implementation of the Rockweed Fishery Management Plan’
Amend the bill by striking out all of section 2 and inserting the following:
‘Sec. 2. Statewide management plan for rockweed; update on recommended actions. The Commissioner of Marine Resources, referred to in this section as "the commissioner," shall complete and present to the joint standing committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction over marine resources matters by January 31, 2015 an update on the implementation of the Rockweed Fishery Management Plan, referred to in this section as "the plan," dated January 2014, developed pursuant to Public Law 2013, chapter 169 and in accordance with the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 12, section 6171, subsection 2-A.
1. Working group convened. The commissioner shall create a working group whose purpose is to complete the work on developing criteria for areas closed to harvest or that are seasonally closed to harvest and identification of areas closed to harvest or that are seasonally closed to harvest as recommended by the plan, and recommend a process by which those designations will be maintained and adjusted as necessary. The working group must consist of scientists and other experts with areas of expertise relevant to the fishery and the considerations previously discussed by the plan's plan development team relevant to no-harvest determinations and staff as determined by the commissioner.
2. Working group membership; criteria; areas closed to harvest. The update must identify:
A. The membership of the working group convened pursuant to subsection 1;
B. The criteria recommended by the working group to be used to determine areas to be closed to harvest or areas that are seasonally closed to harvest, and the scientific or legal reasoning for each criterion;
C. Based upon the criteria in paragraph B, the recommended process for designating areas closed to harvest or areas that are seasonally closed to harvest, disseminating those designations and revising those designations; and
D. To the extent possible, the recommendations of the working group in identifying areas closed to harvest or areas that are seasonally closed to harvest.
3. Legislation. The joint standing committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction over marine resources matters is authorized to report out a bill to the First Regular Session of the 127th Legislature that is related to the implementation of the plan update submitted pursuant to this section. ’
 
SUMMARY
This amendment, which is the majority report and replaces section 2 of the bill, requires the Commissioner of Marine Resources to provide an update to the joint standing committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction over marine resources matters by January 31, 2015, on the implementation of the Rockweed Fishery Management Plan.
The bill requires submission of a statewide management plan for rockweed and contains specific parameters for convening a working group to develop criteria to be used for designating areas closed to harvest or that are seasonally closed to harvest and to propose specific areas for those designations. The amendment leaves the working group's composition to the commissioner and clarifies that its purpose is to complete the work on developing criteria for areas that are to be seasonally or permanently closed to harvest as recommended by the Rockweed Fishery Management Plan and a process for maintaining and adjusting those designations as necessary.
The amendment requires that the working group include scientists and experts with expertise relevant to this fishery and that each criterion adopted be supported by scientific or legal reasoning.
The amendment requires the update to identify:
1. The membership of the working group that is convened pursuant to the fisheries management plan;
2. The criteria and recommended process to define and designate areas closed to harvest or areas that are seasonally closed to harvest; and
3. The working group's progress in identifying areas closed to harvest or areas that are seasonally closed to harvest.
The amendment authorizes the joint standing committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction over marine resources matters to report out a bill related to the implementation of the Rockweed Fishery Management Plan.