WSR 00-08-044

EMERGENCY RULES

DEPARTMENT OF

FISH AND WILDLIFE

[ Order 00-41 -- Filed March 30, 2000, 4:44 p.m. ]

Date of Adoption: March 30, 2000.

Purpose: Amend commercial rules.

Citation of Existing Rules Affected by this Order: Repealing WAC 220-52-04600Y and 220-52-04600Z; and amending WAC 220-52-046.

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: Testfishing results from Marine Fish/Shellfish Management and Catch Reporting Areas 21A, 21B, 22B, the Lopez Sound portion of Marine Area 7 do not meet hardshell criteria established to prevent unacceptable handling mortality and resource loss when hardshell criteria are not met. State/tribal allocation imbalance requires closure in Marine Areas 8-1 and 8-2, Marine Fish Shellfish Catch Reporting Areas 23A, 23B, 23C, 23D, 24A, 24B, 24C, 24D, 25A, 25E, 26A, and 29. There is insufficient time to promulgate 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Number of Sections Adopted in Order to Comply with Federal Statute: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; Federal Rules or Standards: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; or Recently Enacted State Statutes: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.

Number of Sections Adopted at Request of a Nongovernmental Entity: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.

Number of Sections Adopted on the Agency's Own Initiative: New 1, Amended 0, Repealed 2.

Number of Sections Adopted in Order to Clarify, Streamline, or Reform Agency Procedures: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.

Number of Sections Adopted Using Negotiated Rule Making: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; Pilot Rule Making: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; or Other Alternative Rule Making: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0. Effective Date of Rule: Immediately.

March 30, 2000

Evan Jacoby

for Jeff P. Koenings

Director


NEW SECTION
WAC 220-52-04600Z
Commercial crab fishery -- Allocation/softshell closures.

Notwithstanding the provisions of WAC 220-52-046, effective immediately through April 15, 2000, it is unlawful to fish for Dungeness crab for commercial purposes in Puget Sound from the following waters during the periods indicated:

(1) 6:00 p.m. March 31, 2000 through April 15, 2000, all waters of Marine Fish/Shellfish Management and Catch Reporting Areas 21A, 21B, 22B, and that portion of Marine Fish/Shellfish Catch Area 22A that includes Lopez Sound and Blakely Sound, south of a line extending from Upright Head to the green flashing marker on the southwest tip of Obstruction Island; west of a line extending due south from the green flashing marker on the southwest tip of Obstruction Island to Blakely Island; west of a line drawn from the red flashing buoy at the southern tip of Blakely Island across Thatcher Pass to the white flashing marker at Fauntleroy Point on the northwest corner of Decatur Island and west of a line drawn due south through Lopez Pass from the red flashing marker on the southern tip of Decatur Island to the point of land across Lopez Pass on Lopez Island including Mud Bay and Hunter Bay.

(2) 6:00 p.m. March 31, 2000 through April 15, 2000, all waters of Marine Fish/Shellfish Management and Catch Reporting Areas 24A, 24B, 24C, 24D and those contiguous waters of Area 26A northerly of a line from the southern tip of Whidby Island to the shipwreck north of Picnic Point.

(3) 10:00 a.m. April 3, 2000 through April 15, 2000, all waters of Marine Fish/Shellfish Management and Catch Reporting Area 23B.

(4) 10:00 a.m. April 7, 2000 through April 15, 2000, all waters of Marine Fish/Shellfish Management and Catch Reporting Areas 23A, 23C, 23D, 25A, 25E and 29.

[]


REPEALER

     The following section of the Washington Administrative Code is repealed:
WAC 220-52-04600Y Commercial crab fishery--Softshell and allocation closures. (00-39)

The following section of the Washington Administrative Code is repealed effective 11:59 p.m. April 15, 2000:


WAC 220-52-04600Z Commercial crab fishery--Softshell and allocation closures.

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