S-3571.4 _______________________________________________
SUBSTITUTE SENATE BILL 6047
_______________________________________________
State of Washington 52nd Legislature 1992 Regular Session
By Senate Committee on Environment & Natural Resources (originally sponsored by Senator L. Smith)
Read first time 02/04/92.
AN ACT Relating to commercial salmon licenses; amending RCW 75.28.040; and creating new sections.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:
NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. The purpose of this act is to implement the findings of the commercial salmon licensing study undertaken pursuant to Substitute Senate Bill No. 5501 (chapter 144, Laws of 1991). The bulk of the study was an investigation of the status of commercial fishing licenses to determine the optimum number of commercial fishing licenses to be made available to the industry.
Sec. 2. RCW 75.28.040 and 1983 1st ex.s. c 46 s 108 are each amended to read as follows:
Commercial licenses and permits expire at midnight on December 31st following their issuance and in accordance with this title may be renewed annually upon application and payment of the prescribed license fees and meeting the poundage salmon landing requirement for salmon licenses to be developed in section 3 of this act. Department fish tickets shall be required documentation for this requirement. In cases where a commercial fisher is prevented from attaining the annual salmon catch landing requirement because of an unforeseen emergency, such as illness or severely short salmon seasons, the poundage landing requirement may be waived by the director, following such recommendation by the peer review board. The peer review board shall be selected by the director from five commercial salmon fishing licensees from the same gear type as the fisher who is appealing the landing requirement.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 3. A task force is created to address the issue of commercial fishery gear reduction. The task force shall be officially known as the "1992 commercial fishery gear reduction task force." The task force shall consist of industry selected members from the salmon troll industry, the Columbia river/Willapa Bay gill net industry, Columbia river/Grays Harbor gill net industry, the Puget Sound gill net industry, the Puget Sound purse seine industry, and the reef net industry. Members shall be selected by their respective industry group. Two individuals shall be selected from each gear group. The director of the department of trade and economic development shall appoint appropriate department representatives to facilitate the functions of the full task force. The director of fisheries shall provide assistance to the task force. The task force shall submit to the legislature on or before January 1993, through the director of the department of fisheries, a detailed plan to achieve gear reduction or authorize a public auction process of the opportunity to harvest salmon. The task force shall develop recommendations on minimum poundage requirement for renewal of licenses, the optimum number of licenses in each fishery, and a plan to reduce the current number of licenses to the optimum number within a specific time schedule. The task force shall adopt a resolution setting forth the means and process by which the task force shall operate and the manner in which their plan will be reviewed.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 4. This act shall not be construed as a reallocation of salmon among user groups.