1. LPA
License
A. No person may engage in the
activities described in 2.90 and
12
M.R.S.A. §6072-C without a current LPA
license issued by the Department of Marine Resources (DMR) in accordance with
these regulations. An LPA license may be issued only to an individual or to a
municipal shellfish management program established pursuant to
12 MRSA
§6671. The Department shall make
application forms available. LPA licenses expire at the end of each calendar
year. No more than four (4) licenses may be held by any licensee at the same
time. LPA licenses are non-transferable.
B. Density standard. There can be no more
than three (3) LPA licensed sites within a 1,000-foot radius of any other
existing LPA licensed site. This standard does not require a minimum separation
between individual licenses; rather it is a density of licenses within any area
of a 1,000' radius. See Figure 1 below for four examples of this standard where
a license site is encircled by a radius of 1,000 feet.
Click to
view image
Figure 1. Density illustration for acceptable LPA license
distribution
Exemption for riparian landowners. LPA licenses held by
riparian property owners that are used to place authorized gear as listed in
2.90(2)(F)(2), within 150' of the riparian's property at mean low water and
perpendicular to the property boundaries, are exempt from this density
standard. Riparian landowners are responsible for demonstrating this
requirement has been met. Requests for this exemption must be indicated on the
application and are limited to one exemption per riparian property. The
presence of a riparian landowner LPA does not count toward the density
standard.
Exemption for certain sites. LPA licenses for gear installed
within marina slips, lobster pounds, or similar enclosed or partially-enclosed
sites in the coastal waters that are under the ownership or control of an
entity which has the legal authority to restrict access to or use of the site
and which has consented in writing to the placement of the gear on the site are
exempt from this density standard.
C. Up to three (3) assistants per license may
be declared as helpers. An individual may be listed as an assistant on no more
than eight (8) LPAs, other than their own. If the LPA license holder represents
an educational institution, students are authorized to work under the direct
supervision of the license holder who signed the application, as well as any
listed helpers. If the holder of the LPA license is a municipal shellfish
management committee, there is no limit to the number of individuals that may
be declared as helpers.
D. When a
proposed LPA license site falls within the bounds of a pending aquaculture
lease application, the Department may, in its discretion, postpone the decision
on that LPA license application until after the final decision on the pending
application has been made.
2. Application requirements
A. Species
Applications must indicate the common and scientific names of
the species to be cultivated under the license in accordance with
2.90(4).
B. Sources
Applications must identify the source of the stock or seed to
be cultivated or grown for each species, and for hatcheries list the current
name, address and phone number of the hatchery source for each species listed
under 2.90(2)(A).
(1) Hatcheries are
the only permitted sources for Hard clam/quahog (Mercenaria
mercenaria), Hen clam (Spisula solidissima), Arctic
surf clam (Mactromeris polynyma), or Soft shelled clam
(Mya arenaria), unless the Department issues a municipal
shellfish transplant permit that authorizes the collection of undersized
animals.
(2) Marine algae (all
seaweeds such as reds, greens, browns or kelps) and green sea urchins shall be
obtained or cultured from stock originating in Maine coastal waters.
(3) Any stock or seed obtained from wild
sources must be taken in accordance with applicable season or size limits, or
other limitations on take.
(4) All
sources of hatchery supplied seed or stock must be from hatcheries approved by
DMR.
(5) All shellfish stock or
seed used for cultivation or grow-out that have been exposed to waters outside
of an approved hatchery must originate from within the same Health Area defined
under 2.05 (1) (J) as the LPA site.
C. Site location
(1) The application must provide geodetic
coordinates, the coordinate source (nautical chart number, the edition and its
date or software name) and the datum of the coordinate source, for the center
of the longest axis of the license site, and identify the directional
orientation of the longest axis. The license site must be accurately depicted
on a portion of a US Geologic Survey Topographic map or nautical
chart.
(2) The application must
provide a brief description of the license site, including growing area and
classification, bottom characteristics of the license area and whether there
are eelgrass beds present in proximity to the site.
(3) The application must include a
description of current commercial and recreational fishing and other uses of
the proposed license area and the immediate vicinity of the proposed license
area. The description should include type, duration and amount of
activity.
(4) The application must
include a copy of the municipal tax map for the area in the vicinity of the
license site. On the map, the applicant must indicate the actual scale of the
copy of the map, the location of the proposed site, and a circle drawn to scale
depicting a 300-foot radius from the site. The application must also include a
list of the names and current mailing addresses of the riparian owners of
shorefront property within 300 feet of the site, certified by the municipal
clerk or by the Bureau of Revenue Services, Unorganized Division, for
unorganized territory. If the license site is located in a marina slip or
lobster pound or similar site as described in 2.90 (1) (B), the owner or
controlling entity of which has consented in writing to the placement of the
gear, the map and list are not required.
D. Required Signatures
The application form shall require the following
signatures:
(1) Applicant. The
individual applicant's signature, including printed name and date, which shall
verify that the application does not contain false information and that the
applicant will comply with all applicable laws and regulations is required.
When the applicant is a municipal shellfish management program, the chairperson
of the shellfish committee or a designated municipal officer shall sign the
application on its behalf, and a primary point of contact shall be provided
including name, address, email address and phone number. When the applicant
represents an educational institution, an administrator shall sign the
application on its behalf.
(2)
Municipality. Harbormaster's signature, which shall verify that it is the
harbormaster's opinion that the license activities will not unreasonably impede
safe navigation, will not unreasonably interfere with fishing or other uses of
the area, and will not unreasonably interfere with riparian ingress and egress.
In municipalities not served by a harbormaster, a municipal
officer or other elected municipal official may sign the application. For the
unorganized territory where a harbormaster does not have jurisdiction, a marine
patrol officer may sign.
The opinion of the harbormaster, municipal officer or
official, or marine patrol officer that the license activities will not
unreasonably impede safe navigation, will not unreasonably interfere with
fishing or other uses of the area, and will not unreasonably interfere with
riparian ingress and egress, shall not be determinative, but may be considered
by the Department as a factor in deciding whether the criteria for the issuance
of an LPA license have been met.
(3) Intertidal sites
(a) Municipal Shellfish Management Committee.
If the proposed location is above the extreme low water mark in a municipality
with a municipal shellfish management program established pursuant to
12 MRSA
§6671, the signature of the chairperson
of the municipal shellfish management committee or a designated town officer,
which shall verify that the proposed LPA will not unreasonably interfere with
the activities of the municipal shellfish management program, is required. If
the municipality does not have a shellfish management committee, then a
municipal official shall sign to verify that the proposed LPA will not
unreasonably interfere with the activities of the municipal shellfish
management program.
(b) Riparian
landowner. For license sites located above the mean low-water mark, the
signature of the riparian landowner, which shall verify that the landowner
consents to the licensed activity being conducted on the intertidal land, is
required.
(4) Signature
missing or withheld. The absence of any required signature will result in the
denial of the application. At the request of the applicant the Department may
review the basis for the denial of a required signature, except for signature
required under 2.90(D)(3)(b). The Department may, following such review and
upon a determination that the signature was withheld without basis, approve a
license application. Such a determination must take into consideration a review
by the local marine patrol officer of the application and a statement from the
marine patrol officer that the license activities will not unreasonably impede
safe navigation, will not unreasonably interfere with fishing or other uses of
the area, and will not unreasonably interfere with riparian ingress and
egress.
E. Notification
of riparian property owners & municipalities
(1) The applicant shall notify all riparian
owners within 300 feet of the LPA site by sending, by certified mail, a copy of
the LPA application, including information about how riparians can submit
comments to the Department regarding issuance of the license, to the address
certified by the municipal clerk or Bureau of Revenue Services, Unorganized
Division for unorganized territory. Failure to include a copy of the receipt
for certified mailing with the application will be grounds for denial of the
application. If the license applicant is the only riparian, or if the license
site is located in a marina slip or lobster pound or similar site as described
in subsection 1(B) above, the owner or controlling entity of which has
consented in writing to the placement of the gear, the notification requirement
is waived.
(2) The Department shall
notify any town or plantation of the final status of an application. Failure to
do so does not invalidate a license.
F. Site Plans
(1) Plan view The application must include a
plan view, which must be on 8.5" x 11" size paper and show the maximum layout
of gear to be deployed drawn to scale, with the scale indicated to verify the
400 square foot limit. The site plan must include a north arrow with True or
magnetic clearly indicated, arrows that indicate the tide's primary ebb and
flood directions, mean high and low-water marks, and the distance from the
license to these mean high and low-water marks. The site plan shall also
include to a distance of 1,000 feet from the license in all directions, the
locations of any federal or local channels, anchorages, moorings, structures,
existing lease boundaries, other LPA licenses (including whether or not they
are exempt from the density requirement in 2.90 (1)(B)), DMR water quality
classifications (including distances from Prohibited areas if applicable), and
property lines for all riparian owners within 300 feet.
(2) Gear description:
If gear is to be used, it may be deployed on the surface, in
the water column, on the sea bottom, or below the surface of the bottom. The
applicant shall indicate which of the following authorized gear will be used,
and include an overhead view and cross-sectional elevation view of the gear
that includes specifications on all mooring equipment to be used. Aquaculture
gear other than the equipment listed below, may not be used. All dimensional
information on the mooring equipment contained inside and outside the
boundaries must be included pursuant to
12
M.R.S.A. §6072-C
(5)(E)(2).
Upwellers including "FLUPSYs." Sites with upwellers renewed
after January 1, 2025 are exempt from the direct supervision requirements in
12
M.R.S.A. §6072-C(2).
New sites permitted after January 1, 2025 are exempt from the direct
supervision requirements in
12
M.R.S.A. §6072-C(2)
provided upwellers are the only gear type utilized on the site.
Shellfish rafts, associated predator nets and spat
collectors
Shellfish tray racks and over wintering cages
Soft bags, semi rigid bags and floating trays
Lantern nets and pearl nets
Moorings
Scallop spat collector bags
Scallop ear hangers
Long lines (vertical or horizontal)/rope grids
Bottom anti-predator netting
G. Renewal of licenses
(1) To be eligible to renew an LPA license,
the applicant must have completed any educational requirements established
pursuant to
12
M.R.S.A. §6072-C(3)(A)
and must submit an application for renewal to the Department online or
postmarked no later than November 30. If a renewal application is not submitted
to the Department by November 30, the license holder is required to remove all
gear and equipment from the licensed site on or before the termination of the
license on December 31
st.
Exception: LPAs applied for or held by a municipal shellfish
management program for conservation activities such as resource enhancement are
not required to complete the education requirement.
(2) Renewal applications shall be submitted
on a form provided by the Department. The
non-refundable application fee must be paid prior to
renewal.
(3) The Department shall
send a notice of all proposed renewals to the municipality in which those
licenses are located and request that the municipality post the notice. The
notice shall state that anyone may provide comments to the Department on the
proposed renewals within 14 days of the date of the notice.
(4) An LPA license may be renewed if the
license activities continue to meet the provisions of 2.90 and
12
M.R.S.A.
§6072-C.
3. Site Limitations
A. Maximum size Gear, on any one LPA,
excluding mooring equipment, may not occupy an area larger than 400 square
feet. An LPA may be contiguous to another LPA.
B. Dimensions The site must include four
90-degree angled corners and may be no less than 1' or greater than 400' on any
one side. Dimensions must be provided in whole feet.
C. Territorial waters LPA license sites must
be located within Maine's territorial waters as defined in
12
M.R.S.A. §6001(48-B)
and pursuant to
12
M.R.S.A.
§6072-C(2).
D. DMR Water Quality Program Closure Areas
(1) LPA license sites may not be located
within 300 feet of any area classified as prohibited.
(2) Except as provided in subsection (3)
below, LPA license sites may only be located in areas that are classified as
approved or conditionally approved pursuant to DMR regulations Chapters 95.
Should an area be downgraded from approved or conditionally approved, an LPA
located within the area may be renewed for one additional year at the next date
of renewal.
(3) Exemptions
(a) Shellfish seed. An LPA license site may
be located within an area classified by DMR as prohibited, restricted, or
conditionally restricted under Chapters 95 and 96, provided that only shellfish
seed is cultured on the site and the LPA holder has a lease or has an ownership
stake in a company that holds a lease. An LPA license site for shellfish seed
may not be located within the 300:1 dilution zone around a wastewater treatment
plant outfall. Shellfish seed from an LPA site in a prohibited, restricted, or
conditionally restricted area can be moved only to another aquaculture lease or
license site and must comply with the maximum seed size limits as defined in
2.95(A)(4).
(b) Green sea urchins
The boundary line and prohibited, restricted and conditionally restricted area
prohibitions in 2.90(3)(D)(1 and 2) above do not apply to the sole culture of
green sea urchins.
(c) Marine algae
The boundary line and prohibited, restricted and conditionally restricted area
prohibitions in 2.90(3)(CD)(1 and 2) above do not apply to the sole culture of
marine algae, except that an LPA license site cannot be located within the
300:1 dilution zone around a wastewater treatment plant unless marine algae or
seaweed cultured on the site is not for human consumption.
E. Maine Department of Inland
Fisheries and Wildlife Essential Habitats LPA license sites cannot be located
within any area designated as Essential Habitat by the Maine Department of
Inland Fisheries and Wildlife.
F.
United States Army Corps of Engineers (ACOE) Authorization Upon receipt of an
LPA license application, the Department shall forward a copy of the application
to the ACOE for their review.
4. Authorized Species
An LPA license may be issued only for the cultivation of the
following species: blue mussel (Mytilus edulis), hard clam /
quahog (Mercenaria mercenaria), hen clam (Spisula
solidissima), Arctic surf clam (Mactromeris
polynyma), American or eastern oyster (Crassostrea
virginica), European oyster (Ostrea edulis), sea
scallop (Placopecten magellanicus), soft-shelled clam
(Mya arenaria), razor clam (Ensis leei),
green sea urchin (Strongylocentrotus droebachiensis), bay
scallops (Argopecten irradians), and for marine algae (all
seaweeds, including kelp). Notwithstanding
12
M.R.S.A. §6001 (41),
for purposes of 2.90, the terms "shellfish" and "seed" include sea scallops
(Placopecten magellanicus) and bay scallops
(Argopecten irradians).
5. Activity limitations & requirements
A. The licensed activity must not generate a
discharge into territorial waters pursuant to
12
M.R.S.A. §6072-C
(2)(A), 38 M.R.S.A. §413 and DMR
regulations 2.05(1-G).
B. An LPA
license applicant may declare assistants to be named on any LPA license.
Declared assistant(s) named on any LPA license must be in possession of a copy
of the LPA license whenever engaged in any activity at that licensed site.
Individuals other than the license- holder's declared assistants may assist the
license holder and, in that capacity, utilize, raise, lift, transfer or possess
any approved aquaculture gear belonging to that license holder if a hurricane
warning issued by the National Weather Service is in effect for any coastal
waters of the State.
C. Marine
Biotoxins
(1) Closed Area compliance There
shall be no provisions made for biotoxin monitoring or testing for LPA
sites.
D. Record keeping
Complete, legible and accurate records of transport, transfer, harvest, and
monitoring must be maintained by the license-holder and made available for
inspection for at least two (2) years. The records must include the:
(1) Department's LPA license number, site
location and date.
(2) Source of
shellfish, including seed if the seed is from growing areas which are not in
the approved classification status pursuant to 2.90;
(3) Dates of transplanting and
harvest;
(4) Detailed records of
sales; and
(5) Records of the
origin and health status of all seed or shellfish stocks reared on the site
must also be maintained.
6. Maintenance Standards
A. All aquaculture gear must be maintained,
remain within the boundaries of the site, and kept in a fully operational
condition. The license holder is obligated to collect and or remove any loose
or errant gear or equipment that is dislodged from the licensed site.
B. The LPA site ID and SEA FARM must be
clearly marked on every buoy.
C.
Except for a LPA site that has received a Private Aid to Navigation permit from
the United States Coast Guard, each LPA site that has gear on it must be
clearly marked at each corner, centerpoint, or at each end of the gear, as is
appropriate to the gear type deployed, with a yellow buoy. The marked buoys
shall be readily distinguishable from aquaculture gear and shall host
reflective material.
D. The LPA
holder must notify the Aquaculture Division of any changes to the contact
information listed on the license in writing within 30 days of the change
taking effect.
