WSR 17-17-027 EMERGENCY RULES DEPARTMENT OF FISH AND WILDLIFE [Filed August 8, 2017, 2:13 p.m., effective August 9, 2017] Effective Date of Rule: August 9, 2017. Purpose: Amend commercial shrimp rules in Puget Sound. Citation of Rules Affected by this Order: Repealing WAC 220-340-52000G; and amending WAC 220-340-520. 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 2017 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 the pot fishery season for spot shrimp in Catch Area 25A, as the quota will be reached; and (2) implements a spot shrimp weekly limit of six hundred pounds in all areas, with the exception of Shrimp Management Area 1A where a three hundred pound weekly limit is implemented. 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 Number of Sections Adopted in Order to Comply with Federal Statute: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; Federal Rules or Standards: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; or Recently Enacted State Statutes: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0. Number of Sections Adopted at the Request of a Nongovernmental Entity: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0. Number of Sections Adopted on the Agency's own Initiative: New 1, Amended 0, Repealed 1. Number of Sections Adopted in Order to Clarify, Streamline, or Reform Agency Procedures: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0. Number of Sections Adopted using Negotiated Rule Making: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; Pilot Rule Making: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; or Other Alternative Rule Making: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.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: August 8, 2017. J. W. Unsworth Director
NEW SECTION
WAC 220-340-52000H Puget Sound shrimp pot and trawl fishery—Season.
Notwithstanding the provisions of WAC 220-340-520, effective August 9, 2017 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, 2W, 3 and 5 are open to the harvest of all shrimp species, effective August 9, 2017 until further notice, except as provided for in this section:
(i) All waters of the Discovery Bay Shrimp District are closed.
(ii) All waters of Shrimp Management Area 2W and Marine Fish/Shellfish Management and Catch Reporting Area (Catch Area) 23A-E and 25A are closed to the harvest of spot shrimp.
(iii) All waters of Shrimp Management Areas 1A and 1C are closed to the harvest of all species other than spot shrimp.
(b) Effective August 9, 2017 until further notice, it is unlawful for the combined total harvest of non-spot shrimp by a fisher or the fisher's alternate operator to exceed 600 pounds per week from Shrimp Management Area 2W.
(c) Effective August 9, 2017 until further notice, it is unlawful for the combined total harvest of spot shrimp by a fisher or the fisher's alternate operator to exceed 600 pounds per week, with the following exception:
a. It is unlawful for the combined total harvest of spot shrimp by a fisher and/or the fisher's alternate operator to exceed 300 pounds per week in Shrimp Management Area 1A.
(d) Effective August 9, 2017 until further notice, the spot shrimp catch accounting week is Wednesday through Tuesday.
(e) Only pots with a minimum mesh size of 1 inch may be pulled on calendar days when fishing for or retaining spot shrimp. 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. 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. There is no size restriction for spot shrimp.
(f) It is unlawful to pull shellfish pots in more than one catch area per day.
(2) Shrimp trawl gear:
(a) Shrimp Management Area (SMA) 3 (outside of the Discovery Bay Shrimp District, Sequim Bay and Catch Area 23D) is open, effective August 9, 2017 until further notice. Sequim Bay includes those waters of Catch Area 25A south of a line projected west from Travis Spit on the Miller Peninsula.
(b) That portion of Catch Area 22A within SMA 1B is open.
(c) That portion of Catch Area 20B within SMA 1B is open.
(d) That portion of Catch Area 21A within SMA 1B is open.
(e) Catch Area 20A is open.
(3) All shrimp taken under this section must be sold to licensed Washington wholesale fish dealers.
REPEALER
The following section of the Washington Administrative Code is repealed effective 12:01 a.m. August 9, 2017:
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