The commissioner shall cooperate with those state and federal agencies having similar responsibility in the protection of public health and in enforcing the order to embargo, condemn or destroy.

If any marine organisms or marine organism product is embargoed, condemned or ordered destroyed, the commissioner or the commissioner's agent shall, as soon as practical, notify the owner in writing of the amount and kind of marine organisms or marine organism product embargoed, condemned or destroyed.

Sec. 4. 12 MRSA §6071, sub-§3-A is enacted to read:

3-A.__Destruction and indemnification of products of aquaculture.__Notwithstanding subsection 3, the Commissioner of Agriculture, Food and Rural Resources or the commissioner's agent may indefinitely embargo, condemn or order the destruction of fish or shellfish that are the product or stock of an aquaculture operation in this State.__The Commissioner of Agriculture, Food and Rural Resources, in accordance with Title 7, section 1756, shall cooperate with federal agencies in providing for the appraisal and destruction of and indemnification for fish and shellfish that are the product of aquaculture.

SUMMARY

This bill includes products of aquaculture as agricultural or farm products for the purposes of marketing and promotional assistance by the Department of Agriculture, Food and Rural Resources. It transfers responsibility for the destruction of and indemnification for diseased fish and shellfish that are the products of aquaculture from the Commissioner of Marine Resources to the Commissioner of Agriculture, Food and Rural Resources.