Maine Department Of Marine Resources To Tinker With Proposed Lobster Marketing Fees

AUGUSTA, Maine — A legislative committee on Monday tabled discussion on a bill that would raise $3 million in lobster industry licensing fees so that state regulators could have time to tinker with the proposed fee schedule.

The bill, LD 486, would increase surcharges on each kind of license — harvester, dealer or processor — that would be used to fund the state’s efforts to generically market Maine lobster across the country and the globe. The new surcharges would increase over a three year period and, by 2016, would raise $3 million a year for Maine lobster promotional campaigns.

Currently, DMR raises about $350,000 each year to promote Maine lobster, which most state and industry officials agree is insufficient.

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