State Regulatory & Legislative Updates

A running list of pending and recently approved regulatory and legislative changes from the Department of Marine Resources and Maine State Legislature.

Updated: 5/11/21

Maine Department of Marine Resources: Regulatory Changes

These are regulation updates for the Department of Marine Resources that pertain to aquaculture. If you have questions about how these updates may affect your proposed or existing operations, please contact the Department of Marine Resources at [email protected] or 207-633-9594.

Recently Proposed Regulations:

Chapter 24 - Importation of Live Marine Organism - Comment Deadline - CLOSED

Recently Adopted Regulations:

Chapter 2.95 Water Quality Classifications and Shellfish Aquaculture; Maximum Seed Sizes in Prohibited Areas - Effective March 9, 2021
Chapter 94 Sanitary Control of Molluscan Shellfish - Effective March 9, 2021
Chapter 115 Vibrio parahaemolyticus Control Plan - Effective March 9, 2021
Chapter 2 Aquaculture Regulations - Effective August 26, 2020
Chapter 2 Aquaculture Leasing Regulations - Effective April 1, 2019
- Overview of Chapter 2 Regulation Changes

Maine State Legislation: Bills and Hearings

These are legislation updates from the Maine Legislature Committee On Marine Resources that pertain to aquaculture. The Marine Resources Committee is located in room 206 of the Cross Building and is responsible for managing commercial marine fisheries, fish species, and aquaculture.

130th Maine State Legislature (2020-2021):

Resolve, To Create the Study Group To Research Balancing Development and Conservation in Maine's Coastal Waters and Submerged Lands (LD 1211) - Dead
- Hearing held on May 4, 2021- Watch recording
- Committee on Marine Resources- voted OUGHT NOT TO PASS on May 6, 2021

An Act To Protect Maine's Ocean Waters and Support Regulatory Oversight and the Long-term Health of the Aquaculture Industry (LD 1146) - Dead
- Hearing held on April 13, 2021- Watch recording
- Committee on Marine Resources- voted OUGHT NOT TO PASS on April 20, 2021

An Act To Make Technical Changes to Maine's Marine Resources Laws (LD 263) - Not Yet Determined
- Hearing held on February 23, 2021- Watch recording
- Committee on Marine Resources- voted OUGHT TO PASS as Amended on May 4, 2021
- Maine State House- Not Reported Out
- Maine State Senate- Not Reported Out

An Act To Amend Maine's Aquaculture Leasing and Licensing Statutes (LD 106) - Enacted, May 5, 2021
- Hearing held on February 9, 2021- Watch recording
- Committee on Marine Resources- voted OUGHT TO PASS as Amended on March 25, 2021
- Maine State House- PASSED TO BE ENGROSSED as Amended by Committee Amendment on March 30, 2021
- Maine State Senate- PASSED TO BE ENGROSSED as Amended by Committee Amendment on March 30, 2021

129th Maine State Legislature (2019-2020):

An Act To Amend Maine's Aquaculture Leasing and Licensing Statutes (LD 1930) - Dead Due to Covid-19 Shutdown of the 129th Legislature
An Act To Amend the Laws Governing the Composition of the Shellfish Advisory Council (LD 1906) - Enacted, March 17, 2020

For More Information

The updates presented here represent solely publicly available State of Maine regulatory and legislative information. To learn more about tracking legislative and regulatory changes at both the state and national level as well as industry lobbying opportunities, contact the Maine Aquaculture Association (MAA). Typically, MAA can provide the inside scoop about draft bills and regulations well before they're published. Email [email protected] or call 207-622-0136.