Confidentiality of Aquaculture Reports Clarified

Training for: Legal Notes

State law requires aquaculture lessees to annually submit a seeding and harvest report to the Maine Department of Marine Resources (DMR). 12 M.R.S. § 6072. The report often contains sensitive business information regarding the lessee’s operations. A municipality adjacent to the leased area is entitled to a copy of the report from the DMR upon request. Although the reports were (and are) clearly confidential in the possession of the DMR, it was unclear whether copies furnished by the state to municipalities retained confidential status. A new law (PL 2021, c. 581) clarifies that seeding and harvest reports submitted to DMR by an aquaculture lessee remain confidential in municipal hands. (S.F.P.)

State law requires aquaculture lessees to annually submit a seeding and harvest report to the Maine Department of Marine Resources (DMR). 12 M.R.S. § 6072. The report often contains sensitive business information regarding the lessee’s operations. A municipality adjacent to the leased area is entitled to a copy of the report from the DMR upon request. Although the reports were (and are) clearly confidential in the possession of the DMR, it was unclear whether copies furnished by the state to municipalities retained confidential status. A new law (PL 2021, c. 581) clarifies that seeding and harvest reports submitted to DMR by an aquaculture lessee remain confidential in municipal hands. (S.F.P.)