Maine § 6087. - Seaweed Fisheries Advisory Council

§ 6087.. Seaweed Fisheries Advisory Council

1.  Appointment; composition.  The Seaweed Fisheries Advisory Council, established by Title 5, section 12004‑I, subsection 57‑H and referred to in this section as "the council," consists of 7 members appointed by the commissioner as follows:

A. Two members who process seaweed or hold either a seaweed permit or seaweed buyer's license;   [PL 2017, c. 52, §2 (NEW).]

B. Two members who are seaweed aquaculture lease holders or their designees;   [PL 2017, c. 52, §2 (NEW).]

C. One member of the scientific community;   [PL 2017, c. 52, §2 (NEW).]

D. One member who harvests seaweed; and   [PL 2017, c. 52, §2 (NEW).]

E. One member of the public.   [PL 2017, c. 52, §2 (NEW).]

The commissioner shall make appointments so that the composition of the council reflects the diversity of the State's seaweed operations.  

2.  Purpose.  The council shall:

A. Make recommendations to the commissioner on all matters concerning the health of the seaweed resource, its ecosystem and the industry it supports; and   [RR 2017, c. 1, §4 (COR).]

B. Make recommendations to the commissioner regarding expenditures from the Seaweed Management Fund as described in section 6806.   [PL 2017, c. 52, §2 (NEW).]

3.  Term.  The term of a member appointed to the council is 3 years, except that a vacancy during an unexpired term must be filled in the same manner as for the original member for the unexpired portion of the member's term. A member may not serve more than 2 consecutive terms.

4.  Officers.  The officers of the council are the chair, vice-chair and secretary. The term of the officers is one year. The council shall elect a member of the council for each officer position at the first regular meeting of each year.

5.  Meeting.  The council shall meet at least once a year. It may also meet at other times at the call of the commissioner.