WSR 15-22-017

EMERGENCY RULES

[Order 15-399—Filed October 23, 2015, 3:24 p.m., effective October 26, 2015, 12:01 a.m.]

Effective Date of Rule: October 26, 2015, 12:01 a.m.

Purpose: Amend recreational salmon fishing rules.

Citation of Existing Rules Affected by this Order: Amending WAC 232-28-620 and 220-310-180.

Statutory Authority for Adoption: RCW 77.04.012, 77.04.020, 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: Department staff examined QIN gillnet catch per landing in Area 2A and D through week forty-two from 1996 to 2014. A significant relationship existed between coho catch per landing and Chehalis River Basin total run size. Based on QIN catch per landing in 2015, the relationship predicted a run size of forty-eight thousand three hundred seventeen coho compared to a preseason forecast of nearly one hundred forty-nine thousand.

This preliminary in-season coho update was also plugged into the preseason planning model to examine the effect of actual 2015 treaty and nontreaty fisheries on the potential for reaching the coho escapement goal. Based on a run size of forty-eight thousand three hundred seventeen and the planned fishing schedules, the natural-origin coho escapement was predicted to be twenty-three thousand four hundred seventy-two compared to the goal of twenty-eight thousand five hundred six. That is, the preseason forecast already predicts that the coho escapement goal will be missed by nearly five thousand coho. Because the run size for 2015 now appears to be far below the preseason forecast, there is a reasoned basis for slowing harvest to ensure the overall harvest rate objective is met and to provide some buffer against a serious underescapement of coho.

Based on all this information, an in-season closure of the commercial and recreational fisheries is warranted to help ensure that conservation goals are met. Such an in-season adjustment requires immediate action and cannot wait for the time required to adopt a permanent rule amendment.

Number of Sections Adopted in Order to Comply with Federal Statute: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; Federal Rules or Standards: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; or Recently Enacted State Statutes: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.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

Date Adopted: October 23, 2015.

Joe Stohr

for J. W. Unsworth

Director