04/16/2026
SHELLFISH CONSERVATION ORDINANCE
TOWN OF MACHIASPORT
1. Authority: This Ordinance is enacted in accordance with 12 M.R.S. § 6671 and DMR Regulation Chapter 7 to govern commercial shellfish harvesting within any area of the intertidal zone within the Town and Township of Machiasport, Washington County, Maine (“Town”).
2. Purpose: To establish a shellfish conservation program for the Town, which will ensure 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 areas where harvesting 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 Machiasport will be administered by the Shellfish Conservation Committee. The Committee will consist of five (5) members to be appointed by the Select Board for terms of one (1) year or more. Responsibilities of the Committee include:
A. Establishing annually, in conjunction with the Department of Marine Resources, the number of shellfish harvesting licenses to be issued.
B. Submitting to the Select Board proposals for the expenditures of funds for the purpose of shellfish conservation.
C. Keeping this Ordinance under review and making recommendations for amendments to it.
D. Securing and maintaining records of shellfish harvesting from the Town’s managed shellfish areas and closed areas that are conditionally opened by the Department of Marine Resources.
E. Recommending conservation closures and openings of harvesting areas to the Select Board in conjunction with the Area Biologists of the Department of Marine Resources.
F. 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. Residents: The term “resident” shall mean a person who physically resides in the Town of Machiasport at a fixed, permanent, and principal home and has physically resided in the Town for at least twelve (12) consecutive months immediately preceding the date of application for a license under this Ordinance. A resident must possess a current Maine driver’s license or Maine State identification card reflecting a physical address in Machiasport.
B. Nonresident: The word “nonresident” shall mean any persons not
qualified as a resident under this Ordinance.
C. Shellfish, Clams and Inter tidal Shellfish resources: When used in the context of this Ordinance the words “shellfish,” “clams,” and
“Inter tidal shellfish resources” all mean softshell clams, i.e. Mya
arenaria.
D. Municipality: For the purpose of this Ordinance, Municipality refers to the Town of Machiasport, Maine.
E. Certified Municipal Shellfish Conservation Warden: The law enforcement officer appointed by the Shellfish Committee, approved by the Select Board to enforce this Ordinance, and approved by the Commissioner pursuant to 12 M.R.S. § 6671(8).
5. Licensing: It is unlawful for any person to dig or take shellfish from the shores and flats of this Municipality for commercial purposes as provided by this Ordinance, without a Municipal Shellfish Harvesting License.
A. Licenses: Means “Town license.” In order to secure a Town license, a person must fall into one of the categories listed below:
1. Residents: A resident as defined above in 4.A above.
2. Student: A student resident commercial license will be available at reduced cost to students who meet their schools’ requirements for being in good standings. (Ages 14-17 years of age). The reduced cost will be posted in the Town office. Licenses for resident youth under 14 years of age is free.
3. A student Non-Resident commercial license will be available at a reduced cost to students who meet their school's requirements for being in good standing. The reduced cost will be posted in the Town office.
4. An over the age of sixty (60) Resident commercial license will be available at a reduced cost. The reduced cost will be posted in the Town office.
5. An over the age of sixty (60) Non-Resident commercial license will be available at a reduced cost. The reduced cost will be posted in the Town office.
4. Committee members: Free provided they serve a full term.
B. Designation, Scope, and Qualifications:
1. Resident Commercial Shellfish License: The license is available to residents of the Town of Machiasport 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 Licenses: 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. Any commercial harvester claiming shellfish they have not harvested personally shall be in violation of this Ordinance.
4. Signatures: The licensee must sign the license for it to be valid.
5. Application Procedure: Any person may apply to the Town Clerk for the licenses required by this Ordinance on forms provided by the Municipality.
a. The place of residence of an applicant as stated on any other license is not determinative of the applicant’s true place of residence. The applicant shall be required to produce at least two (2) documents proving their residence before license is issued. Acceptable documents include driver’s license, utility bill, paycheck stub, mortgage statement, or property tax bill. Other documents may be acceptable at the Town Clerk’s discretion.
b. A person applying for, or holding a license under this Ordinance, shall notify the Town Clerk within ten (10) days of an address change, regardless of whether the address change is also a change of residency.
c. Contents of the Applications: The application must be in the form of an affidavit and must contain the applicants name, current address, birth date, and signature.
d. Misrepresentation: It shall be a violation of Ordinance for any person to falsify or give false information in connection with a shellfish license application. In addition to any criminal penalties which may result from a violation of this Ordinance the shellfish license granted to any person who gives false information on a shellfish application shall become void.
6. Issuance of License:
a. A person holding a resident commercial shellfish license of any type shall be a resident of the Town of Machiasport during the license period or shall surrender the license. If a person does not do so said license shall become void within ten (10) days of moving from Town.
b. The Town Clerk shall issue shellfish licenses with
input from the Shellfish Committee as necessary,
subject to final approval by the Select Board.
c. Appeals must be written and turned into the Town Clerk within thirty (30) days of denial. The Board of Appeals shall be the ruling authority on any appeals.
7. Fees: Fees for the licenses will be set in compliance with 12 M.R.S. § 6671(3-A)(B), which states in part:
“(1) If the ordinance sets a fee of $200 or less for a resident license, the fee for a nonresident license may not exceed twice the resident fee.”
a. The fees for the licenses must be paid in full upon issuance of the respective license.
b. Fee for licenses will be recommended by the Shellfish Committee prior to May 1 of each year and approved by the Select Board. Fees will be posted in the Town office. This includes Conservation Time reduced rate licenses.
C. Limit of Harvesters: Because the shellfish resources are limited and because a commercial harvester can be expected to harvest a certain volume of clams per year, the number of harvesters must be controlled. This will vary from year to year depending upon estimates of the resources, capabilities and
management requirements consistent with good resource utilization. The following procedure will be followed to exercise control:
1. Prior to May 1, of the current year, the Town Shellfish Conservation Committee, with the approval of the Commissioner of Marine Resources, will establish the commercial and noncommercial licenses to be permitted following the requirements of 12 M.R.S § 6671 and DMR Regulations Chapter 7.
2. Pursuant to 12 M.R.S. § 6671 (3-A) (E) and DMR Regulations Chapter 7, the Committee shall provide and reserve a minimum number of commercial licenses for nonresidents. The number of nonresident commercial licenses may not be less than 10% of the number of commercial licenses provided for residents. When the number of resident commercial licenses is fewer than 10 but more than 5, at least one nonresident commercial license must be provided. When the combined total number of resident commercial licenses is 5 or fewer, nonresident commercial licenses are not required.
3. The Shellfish Conservation Committee will notify the Town Clerk in writing prior to June 1, of the current year, the number of licenses to be issued.
4. Pursuant to 12 M.R.S. § 6671 (3-A) (C), notice of licenses to be issued and the procedure for application shall be published in trade or industry publication or in newspapers or combination of newspapers with circulation, that the municipal officers consider effective in reaching persons affected, not less than ten (10) days prior to the period of issuance and shall be posted in the municipal offices until the period concluded. The period of issuance for resident and nonresident licenses must be the same. Subsequent to the period of issuance, the Municipality shall make any resident or nonresident licenses not granted during the period available to residents or nonresidents.
5. The Town Clerk shall issue licenses to residents and nonresidents as allocated.
6. Licenses are non-transferable and non-refundable.
D. Night-time Harvesting: Harvesting shall be restricted to one-half hour before sunrise and one-half hour after sunset. Any person found guilty of harvesting shellfish during night-time shall be subject to a fine of not less than three hundred dollars ($300). Subsequent violations of this section shall see the fine increased in increments of two hundred dollars ($200) and not to exceed fifteen hundred dollars ($1500).
E. Use of Artificial Lights: No artificial lights, ie headlamps, flashlights, etc. may be used to harvest shellfish. Use of any artificial light to harvest shellfish will be a violation of this Ordinance and subject to fine. Violations shall result in a three hundred dollar ($300) fine.
F. License Expiration Date: Each license issued under this Ordinance shall expire at midnight on the 31st of May next, following the date of issue.
G. Suspension: Any shellfish licensee having three (3) convictions for a violation of this Ordinance within a consecutive twelve (12) month time period shall have his\her commercial shellfish license automatically suspended for a period of twelve (12) consecutive months. Exception: anyone violating Section 5-B-3 shall have his\her license automatically suspended for the remainder of the current license year for the first violation. Other exceptions are outlined in the Aiding and Abetting and Stopping for Inspection sections of the Ordinance.
1. A licensee whose license has been suspended pursuant to this Ordinance may re-apply for a license only after the suspension 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 automatically been suspended pursuant to this section shall be entitled to a hearing before the Shellfish Conservation Committee upon filing a written request for such with the Town Clerk within thirty (30) days following the effective date of the suspension. The licensee may appeal the decision of the Shellfish Conservation Committee before the Select Board by filing a written request for appeal within seven (7) days of the decision of the Shellfish Conservation Committee.
H. Unpaid Fines: All Municipal Ordinance fines issued on and following June 1, 2008, must be paid in full before a new town shellfish license will be issued. This includes municipal fines not related to this Ordinance. A receipt from the District Court Office must be filed with the town clerk for verification of payment in full for any fines accrued on or following June 1, 2008.
I. Aiding and Abetting: If a person holding a commercial license uses it to aid and abet the illegal harvest of shellfish their license shall be suspended for three (3) months and they shall receive a five hundred dollar ($500) fine upon conviction. Any second and subsequent convictions under this section of the Ordinance shall result in a twelve (12) month suspension and a one thousand dollar ($1000) fine upon conviction.
6. Opening and Closing of Flats: The Municipal officers, with approval of the Commissioners of Marine Resources, may open and close areas for shellfish harvesting. Upon recommendation of the Shellfish Conservation Committee and concurrence of the Department of Marine Resources and other factors bearing on sound management practices indicate that an area should be opened or closed. All openings and closings shall be posted in the Town Office.
A. Current openings or closings:
1. The Shellfish Warden shall have the power to police the flats and issue tickets for all Town closures and/or DMR closures.
2. The town shall be required to provide a 5-day notification of conservation closures and openings. All notifications shall be posted in the Town Office.
3. Penalties: Any person found guilty of harvesting clams in a closed area shall be subject to a fine of not less than three hundred dollars ($300). Subsequent violations of this section shall see the fine increased in increments of two hundred dollars ($200) and not to exceed fifteen hundred dollars ($1500).
7. Minimum Legal size of Soft-Shell Clams: It is unlawful for any person to possess soft shell clams within the Town 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 shall mean 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 containers, constitutes a separate lot.
2. Possess: For the purpose of this section, “possess” shall mean dig, take, harvest, pull, ship, transport, hold, buy, and sell retail and wholesale soft shell clam shell stock.
B. Tolerance:
1. Any person may possess soft shell clams that are less than two inches if they comprise less than ten percent (10%) of any lot. The tolerance shall be determined by numerical 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. § 6681.
8. Stopping for Inspection: A person shall produce their license on demand of any Certified Municipal Shellfish Conservation Warden in uniform and having probable cause to take such action. It is unlawful for the operator of a motor vehicle, boat, vessel or conveyance of any kind, or any person:
A. To deliberately fail or refuse to stop immediately upon request or signal of any Certified Municipal Shellfish Conservation Warden.
B. After the person has stopped, to fail to remain stopped until the said Warden has reached his immediate vicinity and makes known to the operator the reason for his request or signal.
C. To fail or refuse to stand by immediately for inspection on request of said Warden.
D. To throw or dump into any coastal waters or flats after having been requested or signaled to stop by a Certified Municipal Shellfish Conservation Warden any shellfish, or any pail, bag, hod or container before said Warden has inspected the same.
E. To attempt to elude, disobey, or assault any Certified Municipal Shellfish Conservation Warden.
F. Penalties: The first violation of this section of this Ordinance shall result in a three (3) month suspension of the license and a three hundred dollar ($300) fine. The second and subsequent violations of this section shall result in a twelve (12) month suspension of the license and a one thousand ($1000) dollar fine.
9. Conservation Time: All commercial license applicants will be required to complete five (5) hours of conservation time for the purpose of executing shellfish conservation measures if they wish to receive a reduced rate license including, but not limited to, reseeding and brushing projects, shellfish surveys; five (5) hours attending conservation committee meetings; or five (5) hours of conservation time in the field with Shellfish Committee approval.
A. Applicants for Student Commercial Licenses who wish to receive a reduced rate license must complete two (2) hours of conservation time. The entire two (2) hours must be completed as work in the field.
B. Conservation time for all other commercial license applicants can be earned in two ways throughout the year:
1) By participating in conservation workdays scheduled by the Shellfish Conservation Committee.
2) By attending the Shellfish Conservation Meetings. Attendance will be counted for conservation time to the nearest half hour in fifteen (15) minute increments. The applicant must attend the entire meeting to earn the conservation hours. Up to one half of the total conservation hours required to purchase a commercial license can be earned by attending Shellfish Conservation Meetings.
C. For those individuals who have completed their conservation time and who are not offered a shellfish license due to license limitations can carry their time forward until such time they are offered a license. The individual must apply for a shellfish license each year in order for their conservation time to be carried forward. If they fail to apply for a license each year or they refuse a license after being offered one, their conservation time will be taken off the books.
D. By contacting the Shellfish Warden, with at least seven working days notice, an applicant may schedule to complete conservation hours under the supervision of the Shellfish Warden.
10. Enforcement: Any person who violates this Ordinance shall be punished as provided by 12 M.R.S. § 6671.
11. Effective Date: This Ordinance, which has been approved by the Commissioners 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.
A. Period of Ordinance: This Ordinance shall remain in effect from the effective date.
B. 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.
C. Repeal: Any Ordinance regulating the harvesting or conservation of shellfish in the Town of Machiasport and any provisions of any other Town Ordinance which is inconsistent with this Ordinance is hereby repealed.
___________________________________
Ryan Maker
___________________________________
Ryan Sprague
___________________________________
Sarah Dedmon
Machiasport Select Board
Attested Copy:
___________________________________ ____________________
Marcia L. Hayward / Town Clerk Date
________________________ ________________________
