Maine Dive Flags

Rules for ME divers and boaters

One person told us Maine has one of most strict laws on diving flags in the US, including going to jail for violating them. Supposedly Maine has fresh water laws and salt water laws in addition to the federal laws. However, we haven't been able to get details about these laws.

Bill Noble did some research and told us, "As far as I can tell, Maine is actually not very strict about the use of dive flags. The only law I could find is administered by the Maine Dept. of Marine Resources, and it covers only a very specific situation. It reads as follows:

6956. Diver's down flag required

A person licensed to harvest a marine species by hand must display a diver's down flag when using a self-contained underwater breathing apparatus to harvest that species. For the purposes of this section, "diver's down flag" means the International Code Flag "A" as defined in navigation rules adopted by the United States Coast Guard. A person who violates this section commits a civil violation for which a forfeiture of not less than $100 and not more than $500 may be adjudged.

"It is interesting to note that the law only refers to the alpha flag, and not the more-popular red flag with diagonal stripe. You can check out this law yourself at the following addresses:
http://www.maine.gov/dmr/bmp/lawindex/tableofcontents.htm
http://janus.state.me.us/legis/statutes/12/title12sec6956.html

"Individual municipalities may, however, have their own requirements, and if I ever hear of any, I'll try to let you know."

Thanks, Bill! If anyone has additional information to contribute, please e-mail chris-(@)-interesting.com (remove the hyphens and parentheses).

Maine Scuba Diving Resources

Mike Bridges' Diver's Locker, Lyman, Maine.

Happy Diving,

Chris Whitten
chris-(@)-interesting.com (remove the hyphens and parentheses)
Dive-Flag.com Webmaster

P.S. The information above was as complete and up-to-date at the time as I could make it. It should not be construed as providing legal advice. You should conduct your own legal research or contact an attorney.