WSR 13-18-030
EMERGENCY RULES
DEPARTMENT OF
FISH AND WILDLIFE
[Order 13-209—Filed August 27, 2013, 4:04 p.m., effective August 27, 2013, 11:59 p.m.]
Effective Date of Rule: August 27, 2013, 11:59 p.m.
Purpose: Amend commercial fishing rules.
Citation of Existing Rules Affected by this Order: Repealing WAC 220-52-05100H and 220-69-24000D; and amending WAC 220-52-051, 220-52-075, and 220-69-240.
Statutory Authority for Adoption: RCW 77.04.020, 77.04.055, and 77.12.047.
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: The 2013 state/tribal shrimp harvest management plans for the Strait of Juan de Fuca and Puget Sound require adoption of harvest seasons contained in this emergency rule. This emergency rule (1) closes Shrimp Management Areas 1A, 1C, Catch Area 23B and the eastern portion of Catch Area 23A-W to spot shrimp fishing, as the quotas will be reached; (2) changes the biweekly catch accounting limit to a weekly catch accounting limit; and (3) reflects a temporary change to the shrimp reporting fax number. 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Number of Sections Adopted in Order to Comply with Federal Statute: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; Federal Rules or Standards: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; or Recently Enacted State Statutes: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.
Number of Sections Adopted at Request of a Nongovernmental Entity: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.
Number of Sections Adopted on the Agency's Own Initiative: New 3, Amended 0, Repealed 2.
Number of Sections Adopted in Order to Clarify, Streamline, or Reform Agency Procedures: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.
Number of Sections Adopted Using Negotiated Rule Making: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; Pilot Rule Making: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; or Other Alternative Rule Making: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.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: August 27, 2013.
Joe Stohr
for Philip Anderson
Director
NEW SECTION
WAC 220-52-05100I Puget Sound shrimp pot and beam trawl fishery—Season.
Notwithstanding the provisions of WAC 220-52-051, effective immediately until further notice, it is unlawful to fish for shrimp for commercial purposes in Puget Sound, except as provided for in this section:
(1) Shrimp pot gear:
(a) All waters of Shrimp Management Areas 1A, 1C, 3, 4, and 6 are open to the harvest of all shrimp species, effective immediately, until further notice, except as provided for in this section:
i) All waters of the Discovery Bay Shrimp District and Catch Area 23A-W east of the W 123° 03' longitude line are closed;
ii) All waters of Shrimp Management Areas 4 and 6 and Marine Fish/Shellfish Management and Catch Reporting Area (Catch Area) 23A-C, 23A-E and 25A are closed to the harvest of spot shrimp; and
iii) All waters of Shrimp Management Areas 1A and 1C are closed to the harvest of all shrimp species other than spot shrimp.
iv) Effective 11:59 p.m. September 3, 2013, all waters of Shrimp Management Areas 1A, 1C and Catch Area 23B are closed.
(b) The spot shrimp catch accounting week is Wednesday through Tuesday.
(c) Effective immediately until further notice, it is unlawful for the combined total harvest of spot shrimp by a fisher and/or the fisher's alternate operator to exceed 600 pounds per week.
(d) It is unlawful to pull shellfish pots in more than one catch area per day.
(e) Only pots with a minimum mesh size of 1 inch may be pulled on calendar days when fishing for or retaining spot shrimp.
i) Mesh size of 1 inch is defined as a mesh opening that a 7/8-inch square peg will pass through, excluding the entrance tunnels, except for flexible (web) mesh pots, where the mesh must be a minimum of 1 3/4-inch stretch measure.
ii) Stretch measure is defined as the distance between the inside of one knot to the outside of the opposite vertical knot of one mesh, when the mesh is stretched vertically.
(2) The following areas are open to Shrimp beam trawl gear, effective immediately, until further notice.
(a) Shrimp Management Area (SMA) 3 (outside of the Discovery Bay Shrimp District, Sequim Bay and Catch Area 23D). Sequim Bay includes those waters of Catch Area 25A south of a line projected west from Travis Spit on the Miller Peninsula.
(b) Those portions of Catch Areas 20B, 21A and 22A within SMA 1B.
(c) All waters of Catch Area 20A.
(3) It is unlawful to sell shrimp taken under this section to any person who is not a licensed Washington wholesale fish dealer.
NEW SECTION
WAC 220-52-07500M Shellfish harvest logs.
Notwithstanding the provisions of WAC 220-52-075, effective immediately, until further notice, it is unlawful for vessel operators engaged in commercial harvest of shrimp from Puget Sound with shellfish pot gear to fail to report their daily catch by text message, e-mail or FAX to WDFW by 10:00 a.m. the day after the shrimp are harvested. Text message and e-mail daily catch reports must be submitted to shrimpreport@dfw.wa.gov, and FAX reports must be transmitted to FAX number 360.466.0515. Daily catch reports must include the following information as it is recorded on the fish receiving ticket: Fisher name, buyer name, pounds landed per shrimp species, catch area, date of harvest, date of sale, and complete fish ticket serial number, including the first alphanumeric letter. If the fish receiving ticket is faxed as the daily harvest report, the date of harvest must be recorded on the bottom half of the ticket.
Reviser's note: The unnecessary underscoring in the above section occurred in the copy filed by the agency and appears in the Register pursuant to the requirements of RCW 34.08.040.
NEW SECTION
WAC 220-69-24000E Duties of commercial purchasers and receivers.
Notwithstanding the provisions of WAC 220-69-240, effective immediately until further notice, it is unlawful for the original receiver of shrimp other than ghost shrimp taken from Puget Sound to fail to report in the following manner:
(1) For Puget Sound shrimp - Pot gear: All buyers of shrimp taken by pot gear (including fishers who buy their own catch) are no longer required to report the previous week's purchases by phone or FAX.
(2) Puget Sound shrimp - Trawl gear: All buyers of shrimp taken by trawl gear (including fishers who buy their own catch) must report the previous day's purchases by 10:00 a.m. the following morning. Reports must be made by text message, e-mail or FAX. Text message and e-mail reports must be submitted to shrimpreport@dfw.wa.gov, and FAX reports must be transmitted to FAX number 360.466.0515. Reports must include dealer name, fisher name, pounds sold per shrimp species, catch area, date sold, and the complete fish ticket serial number, including the first alphanumeric letter. Violation of this subsection is a gross misdemeanor, punishable under RCW 77.15.560.
Reviser's note: The unnecessary underscoring in the above section occurred in the copy filed by the agency and appears in the Register pursuant to the requirements of RCW 34.08.040.
REPEALER
The following section of the Washington Administrative Code is repealed effective 11:59 p.m. August 27, 2013:
WAC 220-52-05100H
Puget Sound shrimp beam trawl fishery—Season. (13-203)
The following section of the Washington Administrative Code is repealed effective 12:01 a.m. August 31, 2013.
WAC 220-69-24000D
Duties of commercial purchasers and receivers. (13-113)