WSR 13-17-013
EMERGENCY RULES
DEPARTMENT OF
FISH AND WILDLIFE
[Order 13-189—Filed August 8, 2013, 2:48 p.m., effective August 11, 2013]
Effective Date of Rule: August 11, 2013.
Purpose: Amend recreational fishing rules.
Citation of Existing Rules Affected by this Order: Repealing WAC 220-56-32500I and 220-56-32500J; and amending WAC 220-56-325.
Statutory Authority for Adoption: RCW 77.12.047 and 77.04.020.
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: This regulation is needed to ensure an orderly fishery, manage within court-ordered sharing requirements, and to ensure conservation. The state's recreational share of spot shrimp in Marine Area 7 West is sufficient to allow the fishery to change from three days to seven days per week. In addition, the spot shrimp fishery in Marine Areas 4 and 5 will be closed at 9:00 p.m., September 15, 2013, to protect spot shrimp during the onset of the egg-bearing period. There is insufficient time to adopt permanent rules.
Number of Sections Adopted in Order to Comply with Federal Statute: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; Federal Rules or Standards: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; or Recently Enacted State Statutes: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.
Number of Sections Adopted at Request of a Nongovernmental Entity: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.
Number of Sections Adopted on the Agency's Own Initiative: New 1, Amended 0, Repealed 2.
Number of Sections Adopted in Order to Clarify, Streamline, or Reform Agency Procedures: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.
Number of Sections Adopted Using Negotiated Rule Making: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; Pilot Rule Making: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; or Other Alternative Rule Making: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.
Date Adopted: August 8, 2013.
Joe Stohr
for Philip Anderson
Director
NEW SECTION
WAC 220-56-32500J Shrimp—Areas and seasons.
Notwithstanding the provisions of WAC 220-56-325:
1) It is unlawful to fish for or possess shrimp taken for personal use in all waters of Marine Area 7, except as provided for in this section:
a. Effective immediately, until further notice, the portion of Marine Area 7 north of a line from Davis Point on Lopez Island to Cattle Point on San Juan Island, then north of a line due west from Lime Kiln Point light to the international boundary, then west of a line from the bell buoy at the international boundary to Point Doughty on Orcas Island, then west of a line projected true north and south from the western tip of Crane Island, then west of a line projected from the southern tip of Shaw Island to the number 2 buoy at the entrance to Fisherman Bay:
i. Open daily to the harvest of all shrimp species until 9:00 p.m. September 15, 2013, after which it is closed to the harvest of all shrimp species.
b. Effective immediately, until further notice, the portion of Marine Area 7 north of a line from Biz Point on Fidalgo Island to Cape Saint Mary on Lopez Island, then east of a line projected from the number 2 buoy at the entrance to Fisherman Bay to the southern tip of Shaw Island, then east of a line projected true north and south from the western tip of Crane Island, then east of a line from Point Doughty on Orcas Island to the bell buoy at the international boundary:
i. Open to the harvest of all shrimp species except spot shrimp. It is unlawful to possess spot shrimp, and all spot shrimp must immediately be returned to the water unharmed.
ii. It is unlawful to set or pull shrimp gear in waters greater than 200 feet deep.
2) Effective immediately, until further notice, all waters equal to or less than 150 feet in depth in Marine Areas 8-1, 8-2, 9 and 11 are open to the harvest of all shrimp species except spot shrimp. All spot shrimp caught must be immediately returned to the water unharmed. It is unlawful to set or pull shrimp gear in waters greater than 150 feet deep.
3) It is unlawful to fish for or possess shrimp taken for personal use in all waters of Marine Area 6, except as provided for in this section:
a. Open to the harvest of all shrimp species except spot shrimp. It is unlawful to possess spot shrimp, and all spot shrimp must immediately be returned to the water unharmed.
b. It is unlawful to set or pull shrimp gear in waters greater than 200 feet deep.
4) Effective immediately until 9:00 p.m. September 15, 2013, all waters of Marine Area 4 east of the Bonilla-Tatoosh line, and Marine Area 5, are open to the harvest of all shrimp species.
REPEALER
The following section of the Washington Administrative Code is repealed effective 11:59 p.m. August 10, 2013:
WAC 220-56-32500I
Shrimp—Areas and seasons. (13-131)
The following section of the Washington Administrative Code is repealed effective October 16, 2013:
WAC 220-56-32500J
Shrimp—Areas and seasons.