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An Act To Allow the Sale of Saltwater Smelt for Bait
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1. 12 MRSA §12551-A, sub-§7, ¶A, as amended by PL 2015, c. 301, §36, is further amended to read:
 
A. The holder of a smelt wholesale dealer's license may:
 
(1) Take live smelts for resale from inland waters or private ponds. The taking of live smelts from inland waters must be in accordance with general rules adopted by the commissioner in regard to the taking of smelts. Except as provided in paragraph B, the holder of a smelt wholesaler's license shall comply with the same daily bag limit and the same tackle restrictions that apply to all other anglers and is subject to the same penalties for violations of those limits and restrictions. This subparagraph does not apply to a holder of a fish cultivator license as provided under section 12507;
 
(2) Beginning on the date the body of water on which the smelts are taken is open to ice fishing and ending March 31st annually, use a drop net, a lift net or hook and line to take up to 8 quarts of smelts through man-made openings in the ice while fishing on the ice from specific inland waters designated by the commissioner. A dip net may be used in conjunction with the above methods to assist with the handling and transporting of smelts. A licensee may keep the daily bag limit alive. The daily bag limit established under this subparagraph is for a 24-hour period, beginning at noon on a given day and ending at 11:59 a.m. the following day;
 
(2-A) In waters naturally free of ice, take smelts from noon to 2:00 a.m. by the use of a dip net in the usual and ordinary way. The commissioner may establish the daily bag limit by rule and a licensee may keep the daily bag limit of smelts alive. The daily bag limit established under this subparagraph is for a 24-hour period, beginning at noon on a given day and ending at 11:59 a.m. the following day. The commissioner may shorten the noon to 2:00 a.m. smelt fishing time frame by rule for enforcement or conservation purposes;
 
(3) Use artificial light for the purpose of luring smelts to a drop net or a lift net;
 
(4) Transport or possess at the holder's business facility more than the daily bag limit of smelts provided that the smelts were taken by the license holder in accordance with this section or acquired from a person licensed under this section to deal in live smelts;
 
(5) Designate others to assist in selling live smelts at the holder's business facility; and
 
(6) Transport or designate others to transport on the license holder's behalf live smelts in accordance with this subsection.; and
 
(7) Possess and sell at the holder's business facility more than the daily bag limit of smelts taken from the State's coastal waters provided that the smelts were acquired from a person licensed under chapter 615 to deal in live smelts.
 
SUMMARY
This bill allows the holder of a smelt wholesaler's license to possess and sell at the licensee's business facility smelts taken from the State's coastal waters.