SHELLFISH
CONSERVATION ORDINANCE
Town
of Myaville
1.
Authority: This
ordinance is enacted in accordance with 12 M.R.S.A. Section 6671.
2.
Purpose: To
establish a shellfish conservation program for the Town of Myaville,
which will insure the protection and optimum utilization of shellfish
resources within its limits. These
goals will be achieved by means, which may include:
A.
Licensing.
B.
Limiting the number of shellfish harvesters.
C.
Restricting the time and area where digging is permitted.
D.
Limiting the minimum size of clams taken.
E.
Limiting the amount of clams taken daily by a harvester.
3.
Shellfish Conservation Committee:
The Shellfish Conservation Program for the Town of
Myaville will be administered by the Shellfish Conservation Committee
consisting of seven members to be elected
annually at town meeting or appointed by selectmen/council for terms of three
years.
The Committee's responsibilities include:
A.
Establishing annually in conjunction with the Department of Marine
Resources the number of shellfish digging licenses to be issued.
B.
Reviewing annually the status of the resource using the results of
clam flat, harvester or dealer surveys and other sources of information and
preparing in conjunction with and subject to the approval of the department
a plan for implementing conservation measures.
C.
Submitting to the Board of Selectmen/Council proposals for the
expenditures of funds for the purpose of shellfish conservation.
D.
Keeping this ordinance under review and making recommendations for
its amendments.
E.
Securing and maintaining records of shellfish harvest from the town's
managed shellfish areas and closed areas that are conditionally opened by
the Department of Marine Resources.
F.
Implementing conservation closures and openings or recommending
conservation closures and openings to the Board of Selectme/Council in
conjunction with the Area Biologists of the Department of Marine Resources.
G.
Submitting an annual report to the Municipality and the Department of
Marine Resources covering the above topics and all other committee
activities.
4.
Definitions
A.
Resident: The
term "resident" refers to a person who has been domiciled in this
municipality for at least three months
next prior to the time his claim of such residence is made.
B.
Nonresident: The
term "nonresident" means anyone not qualified as a resident under
this ordinance.
C.
Shellfish, Clams and Intertidal Shellfish Resources:
When used in the context of this ordinance the words
"shellfish", "clams", and "intertidal shellfish
resources" mean soft shell clams (Mya arenaria).
D.
Municipality: Refers
to the Town of Myaville, Maine.
5.
Licensing: Municipal
Shellfish Digging License is required.
It is unlawful for any person to dig or take shellfish from the
shores and flats of this municipality without having a current license
issued by this municipality as provided by this ordinance. A Commercial
Digger must also have a valid State of Maine Commercial Shellfish License
issued by the Department of Marine Resources.
A.
Designation, Scope and Qualifications:
1)
Resident Commercial Shellfish License:
The license is available to residents of the municipality and
entitles the holder to dig and take any amount of shellfish from the shores
and flats of this municipality and reciprocating municipalities.
2)
Nonresident Commercial Shellfish License:
The license is available to nonresidents of this municipality and
entitles the holder to dig and take any amount of shellfish from the shores
and flats of this municipality.
3)
Residential Recreational Shellfish License:
The license is available to residents and
real estate taxpayers of this municipality and entitles the holder to
dig and take no more than one peck of shellfish in any one day for the use
of himself and his family.
4)
Nonresident Recreational Shellfish License:
The license is available to any person not a resident of this
municipality and entitles the holder to dig and take not more than one peck
of shellfish in any one day for the use of himself and his family.
5)
License must be signed: The
licensee must sign the license to make it valid.
B.
Application Procedure: Any
person may apply to the Town Clerk for the licenses required by this
ordinance on forms provided by the municipality.
1) Contents
of Application:
The application must be in the form of an affidavit and must
contain the applicant's name, current address, birth date, height, weight,
signature and whatever information the municipality may require.
2)
Misrepresentation: Any
person who gives false information on a license application will cause said
license to become invalid and void.
C.
Fees: The fees for the licenses are as stated below and must
accompany in full the application for the respective license. The Town Clerk shall pay all fees received to the Town
Treasurer except for $1.00 of each
license, which will be retained by the clerk as payment for issuing the
license. Fees received for
shellfish licensing shall be used by the town for shellfish management,
conservation and enforcement.
Resident Commercial: $200
Nonresident Commercial: $400
Resident Recreational: $30
Nonresident Recreational: $60
D.
Limitation of Diggers: Clam
resources vary in density and size distribution from year to year and over
the limited soft clam producing area of the town.
It is essential that the town carefully husband its shellfish
resources. If, following the
annual review of the town's clam resources, its size distribution, abundance
and the warden's reports, as required by Section 3, the Shellfish
Conservation Committee in consultation with the DMR area biologist determine
limiting commercial or recreational shellfish licenses is an appropriate
shellfish management option for the following year;
1)
Prior to January 1st the
committee shall reports its findings and document recommendations for the
allocation of commercial and recreational licenses to be made available for
the following license-year to the Commissioner of Marine Resources for
concurrence.
2)
After receiving approval of proposed license allocations from the
Commissioner of Marine Resources and prior to February
1st , the Shellfish Conservation Committee shall notify the Town Clerk
in writing of the number and allocation of shellfish licenses to be issued.
3) Notice of the number of licenses to be issued and the procedure for
application shall be published in a trade or industry publication, or in a
newspaper or combination of newspapers with general circulation, which the
municipal officers consider effective in reaching persons affected, not less
than 10 days prior to the period of issuance and shall be posted in the
municipal offices until the period concludes.
4)
The Town Clerk shall issue licenses to residents and
nonresidents as allocated (paragraph 1) from March
1st and until May 31st after
which licenses shall be issued to residents and nonresidents on a
first-come, first-served basis or by lottery.
5)
Licenses
may be returned to the town voluntarily, and reissued to another person at the current fee according to the
priorities established in this section.
E.
Open License
Sales:
When the Shellfish Conservation Committee determines
limiting shellfish licenses is not an appropriate shellfish management
option for one or more license categories for the following year;
1)
Notice of the dates, places, times and the procedures for the license
sales shall be published in a trade or industry publication, or in a
newspaper or combination of newspapers with general circulation, which the
municipal
officers consider effective in reaching persons affected, not less
than 90 days prior to the initial sale date and shall be posted in the
municipal offices. A copy of the notice shall be provided to Commissioner of
Marine Resources.
2)
For
each commercial license category, the Town Clerk shall issue one license to
nonresidents when six licenses are issued to residents and one more to
nonresidents when four more are issued to residents; thereafter, one
nonresident license will be issued for every ten additional resident license
issued. For each recreational license category, the Town Clerk shall issue
one license to a resident and one to a nonresidents; thereafter one
nonresident license will be issued for every ten additional resident
licenses issued.
F.
License Expiration Date:
Each license issued under authority of this ordinance expires at
midnight on last day of February
next following date of issuance.
G.
Reciprocal Harvesting Privileges:
Licenses from any other municipality cooperating with this
municipality on a joint shellfish management program may harvest shellfish
according to the terms of this license.
H.
Fee
Waivers: Recreational shellfish license fees will be waived for
individuals 65 years or older and 12 years or younger.
I.
Suspension: Any shellfish licensee having three convictions for a
violation of this ordinance within a three year period shall have his
shellfish license suspended for a period of thirty (30) days.
1)
A licensee whose shellfish license has been suspended pursuant to
this ordinance may reapply for a license only after the suspension period
has expired.
2) The suspension shall be effective from the date of mailing of a
Notice of Suspension by the Town Clerk to the Licensee.
3)
Any licensee whose
shellfish license has been suspended pursuant to this section shall be
entitled to a hearing before the Shellfish Conservation Committee upon the
filing of a written Request for Hearing with the Town Clerk within thirty
(30) days following the effective date of suspension. The licensee may appeal the decision of the Shellfish
Conservation Committee before the Board of Selectmen/Town Council by filing
a written Request for Appeal with the Town Clerk within seven (7) days of
the decision of the Shellfish Conservation Committee.
6.
Opening and Closing of Flats:
The Town Council/Board of
Selectmen/Shellfish Conservation Committee, upon the approval of the
Commissioner of Marine Resources, may open and close areas for shellfish
harvest. Upon concurrence of
the Department of Marine Resources Area Biologist that the status of
shellfish resource and other factors bearing on sound management indicate
that an area should be opened or closed, the Town
Council/Board of Selectmen/Shellfish Conservation Committee may call a
public hearing, and shall send a copy of the notice to the Department of
Marine Resources. The decision
of the Town Council/Board of
Selectmen/Shellfish Conservation Committee made after the hearing shall
be based on findings of fact.
7.
Minimum Legal Size of Soft Shell Clams:
It is unlawful for any person to possess soft shell clams within the
municipality which are less than two (2) inches in the longest diameter
except as provided by Subsection B of this section.
A.
Definitions:
1)
Lot: The word
"lot" as used in this ordinance means the total number of soft
shell clams in any bulk pile. Where
soft shell clams are in a box, barrel, or other container, the contents of
each box, barrel, or other container constitutes a separate lot.
2)
Possess: For the purpose of this section, "possess" means
dig, take, harvest, ship, transport, hold, buy and sell retail and wholesale
soft shell clam shell stock.
B.
Tolerance: Any
person may possess soft shell clams that are less than two inches if they
comprise less than 10% of any lot. The
tolerance shall be determined by count of not less than one peck nor more
than four pecks taken at random from various parts of the lot or by a count
of the entire lot if it contains less than one peck.
C.
Penalty: Whoever
violates any provision of this section shall be punished as provided by 12
M.R.S.A. Section 6681.
8.
Penalty: A person
who violates this ordinance shall be punished as provided by 12 M.R.S.A.
Section 6671 (10).
9.
Effective Date: This
ordinance, which has been approved by the Commissioner of Marine Resources,
shall become effective after its adoption by the municipality provided a
certified copy of the ordinance is filed with the Commissioner within twenty
(20) days of its adoption.
10.
Separability: If
any section, subsection, sentence or part of this ordinance is for any
reason held to be invalid or unconstitutional, such decisions shall not
affect the validity of the remaining portions of this ordinance.
11.
Repeal: Any
ordinance regulating the harvesting or conservation of shellfish in the town
and any provisions of any other town ordinance, which is inconsistent with
this ordinance, is hereby repealed.
[NOTE:
Items in italics are optional, or in the case of amounts and dates, variable
to the extent allowed by law]