| | | The commissioner shall suspend the sea urchin fishing license | | of any license holder convicted in court of a 3rd or subsequent | | offense of possessing sea urchins smaller than the minimum size | | established pursuant to section 6749-A.__The suspension must be | | for at least one year from the date of conviction and may be up | | to 3 years.__Any conviction occurring more than 5 years before | | the last conviction may not be counted in determining the | | suspension. |
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| | | Sec. 2. 12 MRSA §6749-A, as amended by PL 2001, c. 327, §9, is | | repealed and the following enacted in its place: |
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| | | 1. Zone 1 prohibition.__Except as provided in this subsection, | | a person may not take, possess, ship, transport, buy or sell a | | sea urchin having shell measurements less than the minimum size | | established by rule for Zone 1. |
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| | | A.__A person holding a dragging license may take a sea | | urchin that measures less than the minimum size established | | by rule for Zone 1 if that sea urchin is harvested by | | dragging and is immediately culled on board and liberated | | alive into the marine waters. |
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| | | B.__A person who holds a hand-fishing license may take a sea | | urchin that measures less than the minimum size established | | by rule for Zone 1 as provided by the commissioner. |
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| | | 2. Zone 2 prohibition.__A person may not take, possess, ship, | | transport, buy or sell a sea urchin having shell measurements | | less than the minimum size established by rule for Zone 2.__A | | person may take a sea urchin that measures less than the minimum | | size established by rule for Zone 2 if that sea urchin is culled | | on board immediately after harvesting and is liberated alive into | | the marine waters. |
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| | | 3. Rules.__The commissioner may adopt rules to carry out the | | purposes of this section and to provide for increases in the | | minimum shell size of sea urchins after consultation with the Sea | | Urchin Zone Council.__Rules adopted pursuant to this section are | | routine technical rules as defined in Title 5, chapter 375, | | subchapter 2-A. |
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| | | 4. Penalties.__The following penalties apply to violations of | | this section. |
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| | | A.__A person who violates this section commits a Class D | | crime for which a fine of not less than $500 may be | | adjudged. |
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