WSR 98-22-048

EMERGENCY RULES

DEPARTMENT OF

FISH AND WILDLIFE

[Order 98-226--Filed October 30, 1998, 2:22 p.m.]



Date of Adoption: October 30, 1998.

Purpose: Personal use rules.

Citation of Existing Rules Affected by this Order: Repealing WAC 220-57A-14500A, 220-57A-14500B, and 220-57A-17500E; and amending WAC 220-57A-145 and 220-57A-175.

Statutory Authority for Adoption: RCW 75.08.080.

Under RCW 34.05.350 the agency for good cause finds that immediate adoption, amendment, or repeal of a rule is necessary for the preservation of the public health, safety, or general welfare, and that observing the time requirements of notice and opportunity to comment upon adoption of a permanent rule would be contrary to the public interest.

Reasons for this Finding: During the preseason North of Falcon planning processes, it was expected that more than 5,000 Lake Washington hatchery coho would escape fisheries and be available as hatchery brood stock. The coho egg-take goal for the hatchery was identified as 3.3 million eggs, and the number of coho in the expected escapement should have produced more eggs than necessary to fulfill that egg-take goal.

Currently, the Issaquah Salmon Hatchery has received approximately five hundred adult fish back to their trap. Due to the relatively small size of the females captured in the trap, it is expected that the hatchery will need approximately two thousand females to meet its egg-take goal.

Counts of adult fish passing through facilities at the Chittenden Locks have been far below "normal" throughout the season, indicating that lack of fish at the hatchery is not merely due to fish holding in the lake system prior to entry into the hatchery. The Muckleshoot Tribe's technical staff, who have been doing the locks counts, projects the coho run size at approximately three thousand four hundred fish. Since this projection includes male and female coho of both natural and hatchery origins, it is evident that the hatchery will not attain the necessary two thousand females for its egg-take requirement. Therefore, the recreational fishery for coho in the Lake Washington/Sammamish Lake system is being closed.

An emergency exists in that we are into the period of coho spawning run timing, and there is insufficient time to enact permanent regulations.

Number of Sections Adopted in Order to Comply with Federal Statute: New 0, amended 0, repealed 0; Federal Rules or Standards: New 0, amended 0, repealed 0; or Recently Enacted State Statutes: New 0, amended 0, repealed 0.

Number of Sections Adopted at Request of a Nongovernmental Entity: New 0, amended 0, repealed 0.

Number of Sections Adopted on the Agency's Own Initiative: New 2, amended 0, repealed 3.

Number of Sections Adopted in Order to Clarify, Streamline, or Reform Agency Procedures: New 0, amended 0, repealed 0.

Number of Sections Adopted Using Negotiated Rule Making: New 0, amended 0, repealed 0; Pilot Rule Making: New 0, amended 0, repealed 0; or Other Alternative Rule Making: New 0, amended 0, repealed 0.

Effective Date of Rule: Immediately.

October 30, 1998

Evan Jacoby

for Larry Peck

Acting Director



NEW SECTION



WAC 220-57A-14500B  Sammamish Lake. Notwithstanding the provisions of WAC 220-57A-145, effective immediately through 11:59 p.m. November 30, 1998, it is unlawful to take, fish for, or possess salmon taken for personal use from waters of Sammamish Lake.



[]



REPEALER



The following section of the Washington Administrative Code is repealed:



WAC 220-57A-14500A Sammamish Lake. (98-147)



The following section of the Washington Administrative Code is repealed effective 11:59 p.m. November 30, 1998:



WAC 220-57A-14500B. Sammamish Lake.



NEW SECTION



WAC 220-57A-17500E   Lake Washington. Notwithstanding the provisions of WAC 220-57A-175, effective immediately through 11:59 p.m. November 30, 1998, it is unlawful to take, fish for, or possess salmon taken for personal use from waters of Lake Washington.



[]



REPEALER



The following section of the Washington Administrative Code is repealed effective 11:59 p.m. November 30, 1998:



WAC 220-57A-17500E Lake Washington.