March 6, 2025 — Previous attempts to extend Maine’s jurisdiction over coastal waters faced legal hurdles, but one lawmaker is trying again.
Two bills from Sen. Joseph Martin (R-Oxford) that seek to assert state sovereignty and ownership up to 12 and 24 nautical miles off the state’s coast are scheduled to have a public hearing Thursday before the Legislature’s Marine Resources Committee.
Just two years ago, similar legislation was brought forward and failed. At the time, both the Maine Department of Marine Resources and the Maine Lobstermen’s Association raised concern that such a change is legally fraught and wouldn’t result in the desired outcome of protecting lobster fisheries, leading both entities to oppose the bill.
The new proposal to extend state sovereignty to 12 nautical miles off the coast, LD 553, includes an emergency preamble that would allow the legislation to take effect immediately upon passage, rather than waiting the typical 90 days after adjournment.