WSR 05-07-060

EMERGENCY RULES

DEPARTMENT OF

FISH AND WILDLIFE

[ Order 05-42 -- Filed March 11, 2005, 3:31 p.m. , effective March 15, 2005, 6:00 p.m. ]


     

     Purpose: Amend commercial fishing rules.

     Citation of Existing Rules Affected by this Order: Repealing WAC 220-52-04000J and 220-52-04600A; and amending WAC 220-52-040 and 220-52-046.

     Statutory Authority for Adoption: RCW 77.12.240.

     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: Pot limits for the commercial crab fishery in the Puget Sound licensing district are to maintain commercial harvest allocation objectives. Catch area closures are to protect soft shelled crab. There is insufficient time to promulgate permanent rule.

     Number of Sections Adopted in Order to Comply with Federal Statute: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; Federal Rules or Standards: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; or Recently Enacted State Statutes: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.

     Number of Sections Adopted at Request of a Nongovernmental Entity: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.

     Number of Sections Adopted on the Agency's Own Initiative: New 2, Amended 0, Repealed 2.

     Number of Sections Adopted in Order to Clarify, Streamline, or Reform Agency Procedures: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.

     Number of Sections Adopted Using Negotiated Rule Making: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0;      Pilot Rule Making: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; or Other Alternative Rule Making: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.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: March 10, 2005.

J. P. Koenings

Director


NEW SECTION
WAC 220-52-04000K   Commercial crab fishery -- Lawful and unlawful gear, methods, and other unlawful acts.   Notwithstanding the provisions of WAC 220-52-040, effective immediately until further notice, it is unlawful for any person to fish for crabs for commercial purposes with more than 75 pots per license, per buoy tag number in Marine Fish Shellfish Catch Reporting Areas 20A, 20B, 22A, and 22B. The remaining 25 buoy tags per license must be onboard the designated vessel and available for inspection in the pot limited areas.

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NEW SECTION
WAC 220-52-04600B   Crab fishery -- Seasons and areas.   Notwithstanding the provisions of WAC 220-52-046, effective immediately until further notice it will be unlawful to fish for Dungeness Crab for commercial purposes in Marine Fish-Shellfish Management and Catch Reporting Areas 21A, 21B, 23A, 23B, 23C, 23D, 24A, 24B, 24C, 24D, 25B, 25D, 25E, 25A, 26A (East and West), 29 and that portion of Lopez Sound (22A) south of a line extending from the tip of Spencer Spit, through Frost Island to the red flashing buoy at the southern tip of Blakely Island, and 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.

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REPEALER


     The following section of the Washington Administrative Code is repealed effective 6:00 p.m. March 15, 2005:


WAC 220-52-04000J Commercial crab fishery -- Lawful and unlawful gear, methods, and other unlawful acts. (05-30)
WAC 220-52-04600A Crab fishery -- Seasons and areas. (05-30)

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