APPROVED CHAPTER
JUNE 10, 2025 227
BY GOVERNOR PUBLIC LAW
STATE OF MAINE
_____
IN THE YEAR OF OUR LORD
TWO THOUSAND TWENTY-FIVE
_____
H.P. 28 - L.D. 64
An Act to Eliminate the Cultchless American Oyster Growers License
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1. 12 MRSA §6073, sub-§2-A, as enacted by PL 1991, c. 876, §1, is repealed
and the following enacted in its place:
2-A. Cultchless American oysters; possession and tolerance. A person may not
take, possess or sell American oysters when 20% or more of a bulk pile is composed of
cultchless American oysters, except that:
A. A person may take, possess or sell American oysters when 20% or more of a bulk
pile is composed of cultchless American oysters if those oysters were legally taken
under a municipal shellfish conservation ordinance authorized under section 6671 that
includes regulation of American oysters and for which a transplant permit has been
issued by the department;
B. A person who is licensed under section 6810-B may take, possess or sell cultchless
American oysters when 20% or more of a bulk pile is composed of cultchless American
oysters if those oysters are legally taken from an aquaculture lease or license site
authorized under section 6072, 6072-A, 6072-B or 6072-C; and
C. A person who is licensed under section 6851 or 6852 may possess, buy and sell
cultchless American oysters when 20% or more of a bulk pile is composed of cultchless
American oysters.
This subsection does not apply to a person who holds a current aquaculture lease or license
site authorized under section 6072, 6072-A, 6072-B or 6072-C, as long as the person is
engaged in activity authorized under those sections.
The tolerance described under this subsection is determined by numerical count of not less
than one peck nor more than 4 pecks taken at random from various parts of the bulk pile or
by a count of the entire pile if it contains less than one peck.
Sec. 2. 12 MRSA §6863, as amended by PL 2013, c. 509, §10, is repealed.
Page 1 - 132LR0358(03)


Statutes affected:
Bill Text ACTPUB , Chapter 227: 12.6073, 12.6863