Maine § 12 §6433 Escape vents

Maine Statutes

§ 12 §6433 — Escape vents

Maine § 12 §6433

Title 12CONSERVATION

Part 9MARINE RESOURCES

Ch. 619LOBSTER AND CRAB FISHING LICENSES

This text of Maine § 12 §6433 (Escape vents) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Maine primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook

Me. Rev. Stat. tit. 12, § 12 §6433 (2026).

Text

1.Vent required. It is unlawful to fish for or to take lobsters unless the lobster trap is equipped with unobstructed vents or gaps in the parlor section as follows: 1-A. Adjustment. Notwithstanding subsection 1, the commissioner shall specify by rule the dimensions of vents in lobster traps, which must be appropriate for the minimum legal lobster size in effect pursuant to section 6431. The commissioner may adopt rules to set different dimensions of vents in lobster traps when necessary to comply with changes to the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission Interstate Fishery Management Plan for American Lobster. Rules adopted pursuant to this subsection are routine technical rules as defined in Title 5, chapter 375, subchapter 2‑A. The commissioner shall notify the joint standing comm

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1.
Vent required.
It is unlawful to fish for or to take lobsters unless the lobster trap is equipped with unobstructed vents or gaps in the parlor section as follows:
1-A.
Adjustment.
Notwithstanding subsection 1, the commissioner shall specify by rule the dimensions of vents in lobster traps, which must be appropriate for the minimum legal lobster size in effect pursuant to section 6431. The commissioner may adopt rules to set different dimensions of vents in lobster traps when necessary to comply with changes to the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission Interstate Fishery Management Plan for American Lobster. Rules adopted pursuant to this subsection are routine technical rules as defined in Title 5, chapter 375, subchapter 2‑A. The commissioner shall notify the joint standing committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction over marine resources matters when initiating rulemaking pursuant to this subsection.
2.
Action prohibited.
It shall be unlawful to set, raise, haul or transfer any lobster trap unless the trap is equipped with an escape vent as required in this section or has been exempted under subsection 3.
3.
Exemption.
The commissioner may exempt specific trap designs from the escape vent requirements of this section if it is proved to the commissioner's satisfaction that the specific trap design will only take crabs and is incapable of taking lobsters.
4.
Termination.

Legislative History

PL 1977, c. 661, §5 (NEW). PL 1977, c. 713, §§4-A,4-B (AMD). PL 1979, c. 353, §§1,2 (AMD). PL 1985, c. 677, §§4,6,7 (AMD). PL 1987, c. 101 (AMD). PL 1989, c. 217 (AMD). PL 1999, c. 142, §1 (AMD). PL 1999, c. 274, §1 (AMD). PL 2021, c. 512, §3 (AMD). RR 2021, c. 2, Pt. B, §54 (COR).