1. Appointment; composition. The Seaweed Fisheries Advisory Council, established by Title 5, section 12004‑I, subsection 57‑H and referred to in this section as "the council," consists of 7 members appointed by the commissioner as follows:
A. Two members who process seaweed or hold either a seaweed permit or seaweed buyer's license; [PL 2017, c. 52, §2 (NEW).]
B. Two members who are seaweed aquaculture lease holders or their designees; [PL 2017, c. 52, §2 (NEW).]
C. One member of the scientific community; [PL 2017, c. 52, §2 (NEW).]
D. One member who harvests seaweed; and [PL 2017, c. 52, §2 (NEW).]
E. One member of the public. [PL 2017, c. 52, §2 (NEW).]
The commissioner shall make appointments so that the composition of the council reflects the diversity of the State's seaweed operations.
2. Purpose. The council shall:
A. Make recommendations to the commissioner on all matters concerning the health of the seaweed resource, its ecosystem and the industry it supports; and [RR 2017, c. 1, §4 (COR).]
B. Make recommendations to the commissioner regarding expenditures from the Seaweed Management Fund as described in section 6806. [PL 2017, c. 52, §2 (NEW).]
3. Term. The term of a member appointed to the council is 3 years, except that a vacancy during an unexpired term must be filled in the same manner as for the original member for the unexpired portion of the member's term. A member may not serve more than 2 consecutive terms.
4. Officers. The officers of the council are the chair, vice-chair and secretary. The term of the officers is one year. The council shall elect a member of the council for each officer position at the first regular meeting of each year.
5. Meeting. The council shall meet at least once a year. It may also meet at other times at the call of the commissioner.