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United States — Maine Act or statute

United States — Maine legislation

Maine Revised Statutes, Title 12, § 12456: Open seasons; exceptions, 2003

The commissioner must establish fishing open seasons, and there is a limited recreational smelt exception for licensed anglers using a dip net under specified time, place, and bag-limit conditions.

Source excerpt

equipment requirementsfishing seasonslicense compliancerulemaking
Jurisdiction
United States — Maine
Structure
1 provisions
Official identity
Year 2003
Dates
Enacted 2003 · Source version 1 Oct 2025
More statute details
Dates
Enacted 2003 · Source version 1 Oct 2025
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01

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“The commissioner must establish fishing open seasons, and there is a limited recreational smelt exception for licensed anglers using a dip net under specified time, place, and bag-limit conditions.”

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    Enacted 2003 · Source version 1 Oct 2025. The date shown identifies this source expression and should not be treated as proof that no later change exists.

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Open seasons; exceptions

The commissioner must establish fishing open seasons, and there is a limited recreational smelt exception for licensed anglers using a dip net under specified time, place, and bag-limit conditions.

Section 12456

04

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Source record from legislature.maine.gov · Enacted 2003 · Source version 1 Oct 2025

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§ 12456Open seasons; exceptionsProvision

Source excerpt

The commissioner must establish fishing open seasons, and there is a limited recreational smelt exception for licensed anglers using a dip net under specified time, place, and bag-limit conditions.

1. Open seasons. [PL 2009, c. 214, §4 (RP).] 1-A. Open seasons. The commissioner shall establish open seasons for fishing, except as provided in this section and section 6140‑A, subsection 4. A. The open-water fishing season on boundary waters between Maine and New Brunswick is from April 1st to September 30th, inclusive. [PL 2015, c. 301, §33 (AMD).] [PL 2015, c. 301, §33 (AMD).] 2. Exceptions. Notwithstanding the open seasons established under subsection 1‑A: A. A person who holds a valid Maine fishing license may take smelts for recreational purposes only from the inland waters or portions of inland waters that are naturally free of ice with a dip net in the usual and ordinary way from noon to 2:00 a.m. in accordance with bag limits established by rule. Bag limits established by rule under this paragraph are 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 prohibit the taking of smelts under this section or shorten the noon to 2:00 a.m. smelt fishing timeframe by rule for enforcement or conservation purposes. (2) A person may not take smelts with a dip net unless that dip net meets the requirements under section 10001, subsection 12‑A. Each day a person violates subparagraph (2) that person commits a Class E crime; and [PL 2013, c. 588, Pt. A, §17 (RPR).] B. [PL 2009, c. 214, §6 (RP).] C. [PL 2009, c. 214, §6 (RP).] D. [PL 2009, c. 214, §6 (RP).] E. In accordance with section 10104, the commissioner may change the established opening date of an open-water recreational fishing season and may change the established closing date of a recreational ice-fishing season if, in the commissioner's opinion, the change is warranted due to weather conditions. [PL 2019, c. 9, §1 (AMD).] [PL 2019, c. 9, §1 (AMD).] 3. Rules. Rules adopted pursuant to this section are routine technical rules as defined in Title 5, chapter 375, subchapter 2‑A and may be adopted by emergency rulemaking pursuant to Title 5, section 8054. [PL 2019, c. 9, §2 (AMD).]
Section 12456Verify source

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  • 1 Oct 2025 · currentEnglish

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