An Act Regarding Municipal and Regional Shellfish Management Programs
Sec. 1. 12 MRSA §6671, sub-§3, ¶A, as amended by PL 2007, c. 494, §1, is further amended to read:
(1) Regulate or prohibit the possession of shellfish;
(2) Fix the amount of shellfish that may be taken;
(3) Provide for protection from shellfish predators;
(4) Authorize the municipal officials to open and close flats under specified conditions; and
(5) Specify areas of the intertidal zone in which the dragging of mussels may be limited to the degree necessary to support a municipal shellfish conservation program . ; and
(6) Authorize regional shellfish management programs to undertake any additional powers granted by the commissioner pursuant to subsection 7.
Sec. 2. 12 MRSA §6671, sub-§7, as amended by PL 2001, c. 188, §7, is further amended to read:
SUMMARY
This bill limits the authority of a shellfish conservation ordinance to the intertidal zone within a municipality. It also allows the Commissioner of Marine Resources to grant regional shellfish management programs additional powers beyond those powers granted to municipal shellfish management programs.