Resolve, Directing the Department of Marine Resources To Evaluate the Limited-entry Lobster and Crab Fishing Licensing System

Sec. 1. Limited-entry lobster zone management review. Resolved: That the Department of Marine Resources shall submit a report to the joint standing committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction over marine resources matters by February 15, 2021 that evaluates the limited-entry zone policy in the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 12, section 6448. The report must examine the long waiting periods for new zone entrants to be permitted to obtain a lobster and crab fishing license to fish in a limited-entry zone. In examining the waiting list for participation, the department shall consider:

1. The current biological status of the fishery;

2. Current exit-to-entry ratios in each limited-entry zone;

3. Latency of licenses and trap tags;

4. The current policy for student lobster and crab fishing licenses; and

5. Any other factors the department finds relevant to its examination.

The department shall also revisit the findings and recommendations made in the report prepared for the department by the Gulf of Maine Research Institute pursuant to Resolve 2011, chapter 62. The report must include recommendations regarding the long waiting periods for entry into a limited-entry zone. In making any recommendations, the department shall account for potential impacts to the lobster fishery as a result of any proposed new federal regulations to address protections for endangered right whales. The joint standing committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction over marine resources matters may report out legislation to the First Regular Session of the 130th Legislature based upon the report of the department.