EMERGENCY RULES
FISH AND WILDLIFE
Effective Date of Rule: April 9, 2012, 7:00 p.m.
Purpose: Amend commercial fishing rules.
Citation of Existing Rules Affected by this Order: Repealing WAC 220-52-04600W; and amending WAC 220-52-046.
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 closes Puget Sound Crab Management Region 1 on April 9, 2012, at 7:00 p.m. because the state will have reached its full allocation on this date. This regulation maintains the closure of Puget Sound Crab Management Region 2 East and 2 West because the state commercial crab harvest has reached its allocation in these areas. The regulation maintains the closure of Puget Sound Crab Management Region 3-1, 3-2 and 3-3 based on agreements reached with the treaty tribes. 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Number of Sections Adopted in Order to Comply with Federal Statute: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; Federal Rules or Standards: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; or Recently Enacted State Statutes: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.
Number of Sections Adopted at Request of a Nongovernmental Entity: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.
Number of Sections Adopted on the Agency's Own Initiative: New 1, Amended 0, Repealed 1.
Number of Sections Adopted in Order to Clarify, Streamline, or Reform Agency Procedures: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.
Number of Sections Adopted Using Negotiated Rule Making: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; Pilot Rule Making: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; or Other Alternative Rule Making: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.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: April 5, 2012.
Lori Preuss
for Philip Anderson
Director
(1) Effective 7:00 p.m., April 9, 2012, it is unlawful to fish for or possess Dungeness crab for commercial purposes in those waters of Puget Sound Crab Management Region 1 (which includes Marine Fish-Shellfish Management and Catch Reporting Areas 20A, 20B, 21A, 21B, 22A and 22B).
(2) Effective immediately, until further notice, it is unlawful to fish for or possess Dungeness crab for commercial purposes in those waters of Puget Sound Crab Management Region 2 West (which includes Marine Fish-Shellfish Management and Catch Reporting Areas 25B, 25D, and 26A-West), Puget Sound Crab Management Region 2 East (Marine Fish-Shellfish Management and Catch Reporting Areas 24A, 24B, 24C, 24D and 26A East), Puget Sound Crab Management Region 3-1 (which includes Marine Fish-Shellfish Management and Catch Reporting Areas 23A and 23B), Puget Sound Crab Management Region 3-2 (which includes Marine Fish-Shellfish Management and Catch Reporting Areas 23D, 25A and 25E), and Puget Sound Crab Management Region 3-3 (which includes Marine Fish-Shellfish Management and Catch Reporting Areas 23C and 29).
(3) Effective immediately until 7:00 p.m., April 9, 2012, 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 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.
(c) 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.
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The following section of the Washington Administrative
Code is repealed effective immediately:
| WAC 220-52-04600W | Puget Sound crab fishery -- Seasons and areas. (12-45) |