There was a Maine supreme court ruling a couple months ago that said that because seaweed isn’t a fish, it belongs to the person who lives nearby on the shore – like their trees.
L.D. 1323 is the result of our elected legislators finally saying, “Wait a minute, people have been harvesting seaweed for centuries” – and as a rockweed processor for 40 years, I know that there are many jobs and dollars on the line if this marine resource (or “fishery”) were no longer available to the public.
L.D. 1323 simply reaffirms what has been the law of the land since Maine split off of Massachusetts.
If L.D. 1323 doesn’t pass, it is even more troubling that the same reasoning – “it’s not a fish” – would become the basis of more court rulings related to the other marine resources in the intertidal zone. Clams, mussels, snails, dulse and worms aren’t fish, either.
There were laws on the books about seaweed that got ignored, so I don’t think it’s a stretch to worry about the clams.
Whether you live on the coast or in The County, all jobs matter. Please ask your state senators and representatives to support L.D. 1323.
George Seaver
vice president and general manager, Ocean Organics
Waldoboro
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