DRAFT
Clam Conservation Ordinance of the Town of Bremen
I. Title: This ordinance shall be known as and may be cited as the Clam Conservation Ordinance of the Town of Bremen, Maine.
II. Authority: This ordinance is enacted pursuant to 12 MRSA Sec. 6671.
III. Findings:
[A] Clamflats and their related estuarine systems play a vital and integral part of the Town's marine ecosystems. These bio-systems are subject to depletion by over-harvesting of the clams or despoliation by pollution.
[B] Clam harvesting is an important economic benefit to the Town. It is integral to the Town's historic character and culture.
[C] A municipal clam conservation ordinance benefits the Town's shorefront properties by allowing orderly clam harvesting and helping to mitigate despoliation of the Town's estuarine systems.
IV. Purpose:
The purpose of this ordinance is to establish a municipal Clam Conservation Program to protect the Town's clam resources and optimize the prudent, sustainable clam harvest. This conservation program includes:
[A] Establishing a Clam Conservation Committee and identifying its responsibilities;
[B] Authorizing a municipal clam license program;
[C] Designating Conservation Work activities;
[D] Limiting the minimum size of clams that may be harvested;
[E] Employing a Town Warden(s) to enforce this Ordinance;
[F] Identifying violations under this Ordinance;
[G] Establishing an appeal procedure for grievances.
V. Clam Conservation Committee Established:
A Clam Conservation Committee shall administer this ordinance. The Committee shall consist of five (5) members appointed by the Board for staggered terms of three years. The Board may remove members of the Committee at any time, for cause, upon prior notice and an opportunity to be heard.
VI. Powers and Duties of Clam Conservation Committee:
The Committee shall:
[A] Meet regularly and keep accurate minutes of its meetings;
[B] Annually appoint a Chairperson and a Recorder to take the minutes;
[C] Prepare and submit all Annual Reports and other documents necessary to keep this Ordinance in good standing with the DMR;
[D] Develop and implement an annual Clam Management Program;
[E] Plan and schedule Conservation Work and informational meetings;
[F] Maintain, in conjunction with the Town Warden, accurate records of the hours of Conservation Work performed by any individual;
[G] Maintain records of all conservation surveys, studies, activities and experiments conducted by Conservation Work;
[H] Provide copies of all records to the Town Clerk for the public record;
[I] Adopt and implement, annually or as required, methods to optimize the long-term, sustainable yield of the clam harvest. Such methods may include but are not limited to:
(1) Limiting the number of municipal clam-diggers licensed;
(2) Restricting the areas where clam-digging is permitted;
(3) Restricting the times that harvesting may occur;
(4) Limiting an licensee's daily harvest of clams;
(5) Designating harvesting methods that can be used;
(6) Establishing the minimum size of clam that can be harvested;
(7) Designating harvest areas for commercial or recreational harvest;
[J] Recommend to the Board, with the advice of the DMR's area biologists, opening or closing of specific clam flats for resource management or to protect the public's health and welfare;
[K] Propose, annually, license fees for each class of license;
[L] Submit annual budgets to the Budget Committee;
[M] Recommend, as necessary, revisions or amendments of this Ordinance;
[N] Review all saltwater-shoreland construction permits for possible impacts to the Town’s estuaries. Whenever legitimate concerns exist, written recommendations for permitting conditions will be submitted to the Planning Board
VII. Town Licenses:
The Town shall license clam harvesters annually for commercial or recreational harvest. No person shall harvest clams from the Town’s clamflats without a current Bremen Clam Harvest License. Bremen Commercial Clam Harvest Licenses and Bremen Non-Resident Commercial Clam Licenses shall be rationed in accordance with State Law.
[A] Commercial clam licensees may harvest clams subject to: §VI.[I] [J] [K];
[B] Recreational clam licensees may harvest one peck of clams per week subject to: §VI.[I],[J] [K]. Holders of Maine State Commercial Shellfish Licenses will not be issued a Bremen Recreational Clam Harvest License.
VIII. Town License Classes:
The Town shall issue licenses as classed below:
[A] Bremen Commercial Clam Harvest License: A Bremen Commercial Clam Harvest License may be issued to any person domiciled in Bremen.
[B] Non-resident Bremen Commercial Clam Harvest License: A Non-resident Bremen Commercial Clam Harvest License may be issued to any person not residing or domiciled in Bremen.
[C] Bremen Student Commercial Clam Harvest License: A Bremen Student Commercial Clam License may be issued to any person residing in Bremen who has attained her/his twelfth [12th] birthday but has not yet attained her/his eighteenth [18th] birthday as of June 1 of the year of application.
[D] Non-resident Bremen Student Commercial Clam Harvest License: A Bremen Non-resident Student Commercial Clam License may be issued to any non-resident of Bremen who has attained his or her twelfth [12th] birthday but has not yet attained her/his eighteenth [18th] birthday as of June 1 of the year of application.
[E] Bremen Recreational Clam Harvest License: A Bremen Recreational Clam Harvest License may be issued to a Bremen resident.
[F] Non-Resident Bremen Recreational Clam Harvest License: A Bremen Non-Resident Recreational Clam Harvest License may be issued to a non-resident.
[G] Bremen Senior Commercial Clam Harvest License: Any licensee aged sixty-five (65) years or older and who has held a Bremen Commercial Clam Harvest License for more than ten consecutive years may request a Bremen Senior Commercial Clam Harvest License. The Committee must authorize a Senior Licensee by May 1st for the upcoming harvest year. The change to Senior License status is permanent. The Senior Commercial Clam Harvest License shall cost fifty percent (50%) of the Base License Fee for a regular Commercial Clam Harvest License and exempts its holder from conservation work. A Senior Licensee may harvest clams on odd days of the month.
(1) With the Committee's approval, a Senior Licensee may designate one individual as the recipient of her/his seniority. The Designee will be given seniority when she/he has:
a. Attended ten (10) hours of Committee Meetings;
b. Performed sixty five (65) hours of Conservation Work;
c. Demonstrated a thorough understanding to the Committee and the Town Warden of:
· The Clam Conservation Ordinance;
· Conservation work;
· Clam harvest management;
d. Paid the requisite license fee, and
e. Exemplified responsible harvesting for one (1), year.
IX. License Sales Approval from the DMR:
Each year, on or before May 1st the Committee shall apply to the DMR for approval to sell, for each license class, a specific number of Clam Harvest Licenses for the next harvest year. The Committee shall propose fees for each license class.
[A] The Total Fee for a Bremen Commercial Clam Harvest license shall be the sum of the Base License Fee and the Conservation Work Fee.
(1) The Base License Fee is the minimum fee that a commercial license will cost when the Conservation Work Fee is offset by 15 hours of voluntary conservation work.
a. For a Non-Resident Bremen Commercial License the minimum fee amount shall be one hundred fifty percent (150%) of Base License Fee;
(2) The Conservation Work Fee is the fee added to the Base License Fee if a licensee does not complete 15 hours of voluntary conservation work.
a. The Conservation Work Fee shall be based upon a reasonable hourly rate expected for self-employed individuals in the mid-coast region of Maine.
[B] Recreational license fees shall be a fixed dollar amount.
X. Reservation of a Commercial Clam Harvest License by Seniority:
To reserve a license for the next year, each licensee with seniority must:
[A] Pay the Base License Fee;
[B] Voluntarily attend two (2) hours of Clam Conservation Meetings. Clam Conservation Meetings shall be used for informational, educational and instructional purposes and shall be considered Conservation Work;
[C] Voluntarily perform fifteen (15) hours of Conservation Work; or
[D] Pay the Conservation Work Fee in lieu of performing the voluntary Conservation Work. The Conservation Work Fee must be paid to the Town prior to April 15th of the current harvest year if the licensee desires to maintain her/his seniority, in good standing, and reserve her/his commercial harvesting license by Conservation Work Fee.
[E] Conservation Work Credit shall be given for all work prior to May 1st.
(1) Any hours of Conservation Work performed by of a licensee who does not complete the requisite fifteen (15) hours of work shall be carried forward a conservation work credit;
(2) The hours Conservation Work a Committee member performs on the clamflats shall be carried forward as a conservation work credit;
(3) The hours of Conservation Work a licensee performs in excess of the requisite fifteen (15) hours shall be carried forward as a conservation work credit.
[E] A person who obtains her/his license by lottery shall pay the Total License Fee.
XI. License Seniority Defined:
Any licensee who has held a commercial license for the previous five (5) consecutive, years has license seniority. Any student licensee who has held a commercial license for more than two (2) years has license seniority. Any licensee domiciled in Bremen who has seniority, shall be issued a license, if a license is available, provided that she/he meets the requirements for obtaining a commercial license delineated in §X.[A][B][C or D]. and § XIII.[A].
[A] Any person who serves on the Clam Conservation Committee for five (5) consecutive years and performs sixty-five (65) hours of Conservation Work on the flats during those years shall acquire license seniority.
[B] If a licensee, with seniority, previously domiciled in Bremen changes her/his place of domicile, that licensee shall be issued a Non-Resident Bremen Commercial Clam Harvest license provided a license is available under the ratio required by State Law.
[C] A student licensee over the age of 16 must maintain her/his seniority by meeting the requirements specified in § XI.[A][B][C or D].
[D] An individual can apply to the Committee for apprenticeship status. If the Committee votes to allow the apprenticeship, when the individual has completed the actions described in § VIII.[G](1)a.b.c.d. &e. above, the Committee may vote that individual license seniority.
XII. License Notification:
Each year on or before May 15th:
[A] The Committee shall:
(1) Notify the Town Clerk, in writing, of the number of Clam Harvest Licenses, for each class of license, to be sold for the next year;
(2) Provide to the Town Clerk a list of licensees, with seniority, who have met the requirements for reserving a license per § X.
[B] Upon receipt of the list of licensees with reservation the Town Clerk shall:
(1) Notify, by first class mail, each commercial licensee with reservation that a commercial license is reserved for their purchase until July 4th;
(2) Cause to be published in the Lincoln County News, for not less than five (5) days prior to June 1, a notice of the number of Clam Harvest Licenses to be sold for the next;
(3) Cause such notice to be posted in the Town Offices until the year's clam harvest season ends.
XIII. License Sales:
Beginning on June 1st the Town Clerk shall sell Clam Harvest Licenses for the upcoming harvest year.
[A] Reserved commercial licenses shall be held for purchase until July 4th.
(1) If a reserved commercial license is not purchased by July 4th, it shall be sold by lottery.
[B] Should the number of commercial licenses available exceed the number of licenses reserved by seniority then the excess licenses will be sold by lottery;
[C] Should the number of commercial licenses available be less than the number of licenses reserved by seniority then the licensees with the longest period of seniority will be sold the available licenses;
[D] The Board shall determine the license lottery method;
[E] The Town Clerk and the Town Warden will jointly administer the license lottery;
[F] Clam Harvest Licenses returned voluntarily to the Town or revoked under this ordinance will not be resold during the harvest year.
XIV. Domiciled Defined:
A person whose domicile is in Bremen and who lives in her/his place of domicile shall be considered domiciled in Bremen. Living in one's domicile consists of returning to that domicile at least two hundred and seventy (270) days per year and sleeping in that domicile for at least one hundred and ninety days (190) per year. The Town Clerk and the Town Warden are jointly responsible for validating a claim of Bremen domicile.
[A] If Bremen Commercial Clam licensee needs to be temporarily domiciled outside of Bremen, that licensee must notify the Town Clerk, in writing, of her/his place of temporary domicile, of the expected duration of temporary domicile, and of her/his intention to return to a domicile within the Bremen.
[B] If there are reasonable grounds to suspect a Bremen Commercial Clam licensee is not domiciled in the Town or has not notified the Town Clerk of temporary domicile outside the Town, the Town Warden will investigate the validity of these grounds. If the Town Warden determines sufficient grounds exist to question the licensee's place of domicile, the Warden will request a hearing under §XVIII.
[C] The Clam Conservation Committee must approve, by vote, the reissuance of a Bremen Commercial Clam license, held by seniority, to any licensee temporarily domiciled outside the Town for longer than three hundred and sixty five (365) days.
XIV. Conservation Work Defined:
Conservation Work is any effort to manage or increase the prudent sustainable yield of the Town's clamflats. Conservation Work includes, but is not limited to:
[A] Serving on the Clam Conservation Committee;
[B] Mapping of the Town's clam flats;
[C] Surveying the Town's clam flats;
[D] Growing seed clams;
[E] Seeding the Town's clam flats;
[F] Transplanting seed on the Town's clam flats;
[G] Performing spat entrainment efforts such as roughing, brushing, and strategic placement of water cascades;
[H] Clam predator identification and mitigation;
[H] Assisting with water testing and identifying possible sources of clam flat pollution;
[I] Pollution mitigation efforts; and
[J] Performing experimental studies, in conjunction with the DMR, to identify methods to increase the clamflat's prudent sustainable yield.