Seaweed is the State's Resource and Seaweed Harvest is a Fishery
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Whereas:
    Title 1, Chapter 1, Section 2 of the Maine Revised Statutes Annotated (M.R.S.A.) states “The jurisdiction and
    sovereignty of the State extend to all places within its boundaries (1)”; and “The State of Maine declares that it owns
    and shall control the harvesting of the living resources of the seas adjoining the coastline for a distance of 200 miles
    or to the furthest edge of the Continental shelf, whichever is greater (1)”;

And Whereas:
    The M.R.S.A. further states, “The ownership of the waters and submerged land enumerated or described (above)
    shall be in this State unless it shall be with respect to any given parcel or area, in any other person or entity by virtue
    of a valid and effective instrument of conveyance or by operation of law (1)”;

 And Whereas:
    The harvest (“take” (2)) of seaweed (“marine organism” (2)) is clearly defined by the M.R.S.A. as a fishery (to “fish,
    the verb” (2)), and as “the State’s seaweed resource” (4);

 And Whereas:
    The harvest of seaweed is an activity licensed (3) (4), regulated (6) (7), and enforced (5) by the State of Maine
    Department of Marine Resources based on this definition (2); and harvesters of seaweed are required to report
    fishery landings data to the Landings Program of the State of Maine Department of Marine Resources (3) (7);

 And Whereas:
    The United States Department of the Treasury Internal Revenue Tax Code defines gross income from fishing as”
    income from catching, taking, harvesting, cultivating, or farming any kind of fish, shellfish (for example, clams and
    mussels), crustaceans (for example, lobsters, crabs, and shrimp), sponges, seaweeds, or other aquatic forms of
    animal and vegetable life (8)”;

 And Whereas:
    The Maine Seaweed Council maintains that the public trust rights in intertidal lands include the right to use intertidal
    land for fishing, fowling and navigation (9); and ”the right to harvest non-alluvial seaweed within the intertidal zone is
    not held by the proprietor, but rather remains in the public’s jus publicum rights (10)”.

 And Whereas:
    “The Maine Seaweed Council strives to protect and promote the sustainable use of macroalgae harvested from and
    grown in the coastal waters of the State of Maine; develop and maintain a united voice to address regulatory,
    legislative and public concerns affecting the seaweed industry; and to promote a spirit of cooperation among the
    membership” (11);

 Therefore
    The Maine Seaweed Council will make every effort to uphold and preserve the rights of the duly licensed public to
    harvest seaweed for commercial or other purposes.

Respectfully submitted: L. Hudson  
MSC March, 2009

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(1)  Appendix A: MRSA Title 1, Chapter 1, Sovereignty and Jurisdiction §1-§3
(2)  Appendix B: MRSA Title 12, §6001, Definitions
(3)  Appendix E: MRSA Title 12, §6807, Seaweed Harvesting Rules
(4)  Appendix C: MRSA Title 12, §6803, Seaweed Permit
(5)  Appendix D: MRSA Title 12, §6806, Seaweed Management Fund
(6)  Appendix F: 13-188 DEPART. OF MARINE RESOURCES Chapter 29: SEAWEED
(7)  Appendix G: 13-188 DEPART. OF MARINE RESOURCES Chapter 8: LANDINGS PROGRAM
(8)  Appendix H: Internal Revenue Service, Publication 505
(9)  Appendix I: MRSA Title 12, §573, Public trust rights in intertidal land
(10) Appendix J: MSC’s Legal & Policy Position on the Public’s Right of Seaweed Harvesting in the State of Maine
(11) Mission Statement of the Maine Seaweed Council
Maine Seaweed Council