EMERGENCY RULES
FISH AND WILDLIFE
Effective Date of Rule: Immediately.
Purpose: Amend commercial fishing rules.
Citation of Existing Rules Affected by this Order: Repealing WAC 220-52-04000A and 220-52-04600B; and amending WAC 220-52-040 and 220-52-046.
Statutory Authority for Adoption: RCW 77.12.047, 77.04.020, and 77.70.430.
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 selected regions control harvest rates to achieve seasonal objectives and maintain state-tribal sharing agreements. This regulation closes Puget Sound Crab Management Region 2 East because the state commercial crab harvest will reach its quota for this region on the prescribed date. 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Number of Sections Adopted in Order to Comply with Federal Statute: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; Federal Rules or Standards: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; or Recently Enacted State Statutes: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.
Number of Sections Adopted at Request of a Nongovernmental Entity: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.
Number of Sections Adopted on the Agency's Own Initiative: New 2, Amended 0, Repealed 2.
Number of Sections Adopted in Order to Clarify, Streamline, or Reform Agency Procedures: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.
Number of Sections Adopted Using Negotiated Rule Making: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; Pilot Rule Making: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; or Other Alternative Rule Making: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.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: December 21, 2010.
Philip Anderson
Director
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(1) Effective 7:00 p.m., December 31, 2010, until further notice, it will be unlawful to fish for or possess Dungeness Crab for commercial purposes in those waters of Crab Management Region 2 East (Marine Fish-Shellfish Management and Catch Reporting Areas 24A, 24B, 24C, 24D and 26A East).
(2) Effective immediately until further notice, it is permissible to fish for Dungeness crab for commercial purposes in the following areas:
(a) Those waters of Marine Fish-Shellfish Management and Catch Reporting Area 20A between a line from the boat ramp at the western boundary of Birch Bay State Park to the western point of the entrance of the Birch Bay Marina and a line from the same boat ramp to Birch Point.
(b) Those waters of Marine Fish-Shellfish Management and Catch Reporting Area 26A-W in Useless Bay north and east of a line from the south end of the Double Bluff State Park seawall (47º58.782'N, 122º30.840'W) projected 110 degrees true to the boulder on shore (47º57.690'N, 122º26.742'W).
(c) Those waters of Marine Fish-Shellfish Management and Catch Reporting Area 22B in Fidalgo Bay south of a line projected from the red number 4 entrance buoy at Cape Sante Marina to the northern end of the eastern most oil dock.
(d) Those waters of Marine Fish-Shellfish Management and Catch Reporting Area 22A in Deer Harbor north of a line projected from Steep Point to Pole Pass.
(3) Effective immediately until further notice, the following areas are closed to commercial crab fishing:
(a) That portion of Marine Fish-Shellfish Management and Catch Reporting Area 25A west of the 123º 7.0' longitude line projected from the new Dungeness light due south to the shore of Dungeness Bay.
(b) That portion of Marine Fish-Shellfish Management and Catch Reporting Area 23D west of a line from the eastern tip of Ediz Hook to the ITT Rayonier Dock.
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The following sections of the Washington Administrative Code are repealed:
| WAC 220-52-04000A | Commercial crab fishery -- Lawful and unlawful gear, methods, and other unlawful acts. (10-312) |
| WAC 220-52-04600B | Puget Sound crab fishery -- Seasons and areas. (10-312) |