AN ACT Relating to a fisheries hotline; amending RCW 75.08.011; adding a new section to chapter 75.08 RCW; and making an appropriation.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

Sec. 1. Section 75.04.010, chapter 12, Laws of 1955 as last amended by section 4, chapter 46, Laws of 1983 1st ex. sess. and RCW 75.08.011 are each amended to read as follows:

As used in this title or rules of the director, unless the context clearly requires otherwise:

(1) "Director" means the director of fisheries.

(2) "Department" means the department of fisheries.

(3) "Person" means an individual or a public or private entity or organization. The term "person" includes local, state, and federal government agencies, and all business organizations.

(4) "Fisheries patrol officer" means a person appointed and commissioned by the director, with authority to enforce this title, rules of the director, and other statutes as prescribed by the legislature. Fisheries patrol officers are peace officers.

(5) "Ex officio fisheries patrol officer" means a commissioned officer of a municipal, county, state, or federal agency having as its primary function the enforcement of criminal laws in general, while the officer is in the appropriate jurisdiction. The term "ex officio fisheries patrol officer" also includes wildlife agents, special agents of the national marine fisheries service, United States fish and wildlife special agents, state parks commissioned officers, department of natural resources enforcement officers, and United States forest service officers, while the agents and officers are within their respective jurisdictions.

(6) "To fish" and "to take" and their derivatives mean an effort to kill, injure, harass, or catch food fish or shellfish.

(7) "State waters" means all marine waters and fresh waters within ordinary high water lines and within the territorial boundaries of the state.

(8) "Offshore waters" means marine waters of the Pacific Ocean outside the territorial boundaries of the state, including the marine waters of other states and countries.

(9) "Concurrent waters of the Columbia river" means those waters of the Columbia river that coincide with the Washington-Oregon state boundary.

(10) "Resident" means a person who has for the preceding ninety days maintained a permanent abode within the state, has established by formal evidence an intent to continue residing within the state, and is not licensed to fish as a resident in another state.

(11) "Nonresident" means a person who has not fulfilled the qualifications of a resident.

(12) "Food fish" means those species of the classes Osteichthyes, Agnatha, and Chondrichthyes that shall not be fished for except as authorized by rule of the director. The term "food fish" includes all stages of development and the bodily parts of food fish species.

(13) "Shellfish" means those species of marine and freshwater invertebrates that shall not be taken except as authorized by rule of the director. The term "shellfish" includes all stages of development and the bodily parts of shellfish species.

(14) "Salmon" means species of the genus Oncorhynchus and includes:

!tp1,1,1 !tcScientific Name!tc!sc ,001Common Name

!trOncorhynchus tshawytscha!tlChinook salmon

!trOncorhynchus kisutch!tlCoho salmon

!trOncorhynchus keta!tlChum salmon

!trOncorhynchus gorbuscha!tlPink salmon

!trOncorhynchus nerka!tlSockeye salmon

(15) "Commercial" means related to or connected with buying, selling, or bartering. Fishing for food fish or shellfish with gear unlawful for fishing for personal use, or possessing food fish or shellfish in excess of the limits permitted for personal use are commercial activities.

(16) "To process" and its derivatives mean preparing or preserving food fish or shellfish.

(17) "Personal use" means for the private use of the individual taking the food fish or shellfish and not for sale or barter.

(18) "Angling gear" means a line attached to a rod and reel capable of being held in hand while landing the fish or a hand-held line operated without rod or reel to which are attached no more than two single hooks or one artificial bait with no more than four multiple hooks.

(19) "Hotline" means a toll-free telephone system that specific individuals can call to receive a recorded message concerning rules imposed by the department.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 2. A new section is added to chapter 75.08 RCW to read as follows:

(1) The department shall operate a twenty-four hour per day hotline for specific fishery user groups or individuals to call to obtain information regarding rules imposed by the department including, but not limited to, season openings or closings, size limitations, species restrictions, or gear regulation. The hotline system shall have the capacity of handling, at the minimum, two hundred callers per hour. Separate systems with different phone numbers shall be established for each of the following user groups:

(a) Commercial--Puget Sound and straits of Juan de Fuca;

(b) Commercial--coast and Columbia river;

(d) Sports--coast and Columbia river.

(2) The taped message on each of the hotline systems shall, in addition to the pertinent regulatory information, indicate the dates and time for which the message is valid. For documentation purposes, the department shall keep each taped message for a period of five years.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 3. The sum of twenty thousand dollars, or as much thereof as may be necessary, is appropriated for the biennium ending June 30, 1989, from the general fund to the department of fisheries for the purpose of acquiring and operating a toll-free hotline system as required by this act.