Date of Adoption: August 11, 2000.

Purpose: Adopt commercial fishing rules.

Citation of Existing Rules Affected by this Order: Amending WAC 220-48-011, 220-48-019, 220-52-050, and 220-52-068.

Statutory Authority for Adoption: RCW 77.12.047.

Adopted under notice filed as WSR 00-14-020 on June 28, 2000

Changes Other than Editing from Proposed to Adopted Version: Partial adoption; see WSR 00-17-091.

Number of Sections Adopted in Order to Comply with Federal Statute: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; Federal Rules or Standards: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; or Recently Enacted State Statutes: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.

Number of Sections Adopted at Request of a Nongovernmental Entity: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.

Number of Sections Adopted on the Agency's Own Initiative: New 0, Amended 4, Repealed 0.

Number of Sections Adopted in Order to Clarify, Streamline, or Reform Agency Procedures: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.

Number of Sections Adopted Using Negotiated Rule Making: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; Pilot Rule Making: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; or Other Alternative Rule Making: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.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: Thirty-one days after filing.

August 21, 2000

Russell W. Cahill

for Kelly White, Chairman

Fish and Wildlife Commission

OTS-4148.2

AMENDATORY SECTION(Amending Order 94-23, filed 5/19/94, effective 6/19/94)

WAC 220-48-011
Beam trawl and otter trawl -- Gear.

(1)(a) Mesh sizes.      It is unlawful to use or operate beam trawls or otter trawls having mesh size in the codend section less than 4 1/2 inches in waters of Puget Sound, unless otherwise provided.

     (b) It is lawful to use or operate pelagic trawl gear having mesh size in the codend section of not less than 3 inches while fishing for Pacific whiting during the seasons provided in WAC 220-48-017 (1) and (2).

     (2) Chafing gear.

     (a) For bottom trawls, chafing gear must have a minimum mesh size of 15 inches unless only the bottom one-half (underside) of the codend is covered by chafing gear.

     (b) For roller trawls and pelagic trawls chafing gear covering the upper one-half (top side) of the codend must have a minimum mesh size of 6.0 inches.

     (3) Roller trawl.

     (((a))) It is unlawful to use ((a)) roller trawl gear in Puget Sound ((except in Marine Fish-Shellfish Management and Catch Reporting Area 29.

     (b) It is unlawful to use a roller trawl that does not conform to the gear requirements in WAC 220-44-030)).

[Statutory Authority: RCW 75.08.080.      94-12-009 (Order 94-23), § 220-48-011, filed 5/19/94, effective 6/19/94; 91-13-051 (Order 91-39), § 220-48-011, filed 6/14/91, effective 7/15/91; 87-04-003 (Order 87-03), § 220-48-011, filed 1/22/87; 85-08-023 (Order 85-24), § 220-48-011, filed 4/1/85; 84-08-014 (Order 84-24), § 220-48-011, filed 3/27/84; 83-24-024 (Order 83-200), § 220-48-011, filed 11/30/83, effective 1/1/84; 82-14-056 (Order 82-72), § 220-48-011, filed 7/1/82.]

(1) It is ((lawful)) unlawful to use roller trawls ((in Puget Sound Marine Fish-Shellfish Management and Catch Reporting Area 29 the entire year.

     (2) It is unlawful to take more than 500 pounds of rockfish with roller trawl gear during any vessel trip)) in ((all)) any Puget Sound Marine Fish-Shellfish Management and Catch Reporting Area((s)).

[Statutory Authority: RCW 75.08.080.      98-05-043, § 220-48-019, filed 2/11/98, effective 3/14/98; 94-12-009 (Order 94-23), § 220-48-019, filed 5/19/94, effective 6/19/94; 82-14-056 (Order 82-72), § 220-48-019, filed 7/1/82.]

OTS-4146.1

AMENDATORY SECTION(Amending Order 98-257, filed 12/22/98, effective 1/22/99)

WAC 220-52-050
Ocean pink shrimp trawl fishery -- Coastal waters.

It is unlawful to fish for, possess or deliver ocean pink shrimp taken for commercial purposes from ((Washington territorial waters west of)) the ((Bonilla-Tatoosh line or)) waters of the Exclusive Economic Zone except as provided for in this section:

     (1) Ocean pink shrimp fishery:

     (a) The open season for trawl gear is April 1 through October 31 of each year.

     (b) The following gear is prohibited: Trawl gear having a net mesh size greater than two inches in the intermediate or codend, except for net mesh used in fish excluder devices. It is lawful to have net mesh larger than two inches in the wings or body of the trawl.

     (c) Minimum number of shrimp per pound: The count per pound must average no more than 160 shrimp per pound for a minimum of two samples increasing at a rate of one sample per one thousand pounds landed or in possession up to a maximum requirement of twenty samples. Such samples shall consists of at least one pound of each of whole unbroken shrimp taken at random from throughout the individual load landed or in possession. This shall apply only to loads of 3,000 pounds of shrimp or more.

     (d) Incidental catch-finfish: It is unlawful to take salmon incidental to any shrimp fishery. It is unlawful to retain any bottomfish species taken incidental to shrimp trawl fishery except as provided for in WAC 220-44-050.

     (e) Incidental catch-shellfish:

     (i) It is unlawful to retain any species of shellfish except that it is lawful to retain up to 50 pounds round weight of other shrimp species taken incidentally in the ocean pink shrimp fishery, or octopus or squid.

     (ii) It is unlawful to ((retain)) fish for ocean pink shrimp ((taken)) within the territorial boundaries of the state.

     (f) An ocean pink shrimp delivery license is the license required to operate the gear provided for in this section, and allows the operator to retain shrimp taken in ((offshore)) the waters of the Exclusive Economic Zone.

     (2) ((Ocean spot shrimp fishery: The spot shrimp fishery shall be governed by chapter 220-88B WAC.

     (3))) Fisheries for shrimp species other than ocean pink shrimp or ocean spot shrimp: Species other than ocean pink shrimp and ocean spot shrimp may only be taken incidentally to the ocean pink shrimp and ocean spot shrimp fisheries.

[Statutory Authority: RCW 75.08.080.      99-01-154 (Order 98-257), § 220-52-050, filed 12/22/98, effective 1/22/99; 94-12-009 (Order 94-23), § 220-52-050, filed 5/19/94, effective 6/19/94; 93-15-051, § 220-52-050, filed 7/14/93, effective 8/14/93; 87-23-006 (Order 87-187), § 220-52-050, filed 11/6/87; 84-08-014 (Order 84-24), § 220-52-050, filed 3/27/84; 83-04-025 (Order 83-04), § 220-52-050, filed 1/27/83; 82-03-045 (Order 82-6), § 220-52-050, filed 1/19/82; 80-13-064 (Order 80-123), § 220-52-050, filed 9/17/80; 79-02-053 (Order 79-6), § 220-52-050, filed 1/30/79; Order 76-152, § 220-52-050, filed 12/17/76; Order 76-26, § 220-52-050, filed 1:45 p.m., 4/20/76; Order 1242, § 220-52-050, filed 8/7/75, effective 9/16/75; Order 1179, § 220-52-050, filed 11/19/74; Order 1112, § 220-52-050, filed 4/15/74; Order 945, § 220-52-050, filed 8/16/71; Order 807, § 220-52-050, filed 1/2/69, effective 2/1/69; subsections 1, 5, 6 from Orders 414 and 256, filed 3/1/60; subsection 2 from Orders 420 and 256, filed 3/1/60; subsection 3 from Order 525, filed 5/3/61; Orders 414 and 256, filed 3/1/60; subsection 7 from Order 525, filed 5/3/61.]

It is unlawful to fish for or possess scallops taken for commercial purposes from ((coastal and offshore)) the waters of the Exclusive Economic Zone except as provided for in this section.

     (1) Season: July 1 through November 30 in the waters of the Exclusive Economic Zone. It is unlawful to trawl for scallops in Washington territorial waters west of the Bonilla-Tatoosh line or in Marine Fish-Shellfish Management and Catch Reporting Area 29.

     (2) Gear: Only scallop dredge gear may be used.      Scallop dredge gear may not exceed fifteen feet in width per unit of gear and must have three inch or larger net mesh or rings throughout.      Scallop dredges may not use a dredge liner nor have chaffing gear covering any portion of the top half of the dredge.

     (3) Licensing: A shrimp trawl -- non-Puget Sound fishery license is the license required to operate the gear provided for in this section.

     (4) Incidental catch: It is unlawful to retain food fish or shellfish taken incidental to any lawful scallop fishery, except that it is lawful to retain octopus and squid.

[Statutory Authority: RCW 75.08.080.      94-12-009 (Order 94-23), § 220-52-068, filed 5/19/94, effective 6/19/94; 93-15-051, § 220-52-068, filed 7/14/93, effective 8/14/93.]

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