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ENGROSSED SENATE BILL NO. 6647
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AS AMENDED BY THE HOUSE
C 214 L 88
State of Washington 50th Legislature 1988 Regular Session
By Senators Metcalf, Rasmussen, Conner, Barr, Owen, Nelson, Zimmerman, von Reichbauer, Vognild, Anderson, DeJarnatt, McMullen, Craswell, Kreidler and Bauer
Read first time 1/28/88 and referred to Committee on Environment & Natural Resources.
AN ACT Relating to salmon production; and creating new sections.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:
NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. The legislature finds that the salmon resource of the state can be greatly increased to benefit all fishing groups and the economy of the state. Investments in the increase of salmon stocks will provide benefits many times the cost of the program and will act as a catalyst for many additional benefits in the tourism and maritime industries, while enhancing the liveability of the state.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 2. The legislature hereby establishes a production goal to double the state-wide salmon catch by the year 2000. The director of the department of fisheries shall provide the legislature with a specific plan for legislative approval that will increase the salmon catch by one hundred percent over current levels by the year 2000. The plan shall contain specific provisions to increase both hatchery and naturally spawning salmon production to a level that will support the harvest goal established in this section and will identify the capital and operating costs associated with achieving this goal. All salmon producing areas of the state are to be included in the plan. The department of fisheries shall provide the Columbia River section of the plan to the house of representatives and senate ways and means, environment and natural resources, environmental affairs, and natural resources committees by March 15, 1990. The Puget Sound and Washington coastal section of the plan shall be submitted to the house of representatives and senate ways and means, environment and natural resources, environmental affairs and natural resources committees by January 1, 1992.
The plan shall include the following critical elements:
(1) Ways of involving all fishing groups, including Indian tribes, in a cooperative manner;
(2) Ways of using low capital cost projects to produce salmon as inexpensively as possible;
(3) Ways of reactivating all hatcheries and ponds that are currently not used or are underutilized;
(4) Ways of increasing the productivity of natural spawning salmon by watershed improvements;
(5) New technology that should be applied to increase the department's productivity;
(6) Analysis of the potential for private contracting to produce salmon for public fisheries;
(7) Methods to increase public volunteer efforts and cooperative projects;
(8) Steps necessary to be taken in the United States- Canada treaty process to protect the state's investment in salmon production;
(9) Elements of coordination with the Northwest Power Planning Council programs to ensure maximum Columbia river benefits;
(10) The role that should be played by private consulting companies in developing and implementing the plan;
(11) Coordination with federal fish and wildlife agency fish production programs;
(12) Future needs for salmon predator control measures;
(13) Methods for maximizing the take of salmon eggs for fish production purposes;
(14) Plans for preserving the vital food chain of the salmon;
(15) Proposals for increasing all species of salmon harvested in the state; and
(16) Coordination with the office of the secretary of state to assure inclusion of the project in bicentennial activities.
The department of fisheries, in cooperation with the department of revenue, shall assess various funding mechanisms and make recommendations to the legislature in the plan. The department, in cooperation with the department of trade and economic development, shall prepare an analysis of the economic benefits to the state that will occur when the salmon catch is increased by one hundred percent in the year 2000.