WSR 18-13-033
EMERGENCY RULES
DEPARTMENT OF
FISH AND WILDLIFE
[Order 18-124—Filed June 11, 2018, 1:54 p.m., effective June 12, 2018, 6:00 p.m.]
Effective Date of Rule: June 12, 2018, 6:00 p.m.
Purpose: Amends Puget Sound commercial shrimp rules.
Citation of Rules Affected by this Order: Repealing WAC 220-340-52000N; 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 2018 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) maintains the opening of the Regions 1 and 3 trawl fishery season; (2) maintains the opening of the pot fishery season for nonspot shrimp in Regions 2E, 2W and 3 with weekly harvest limits; (3) closes the pot fishery season for nonspot shrimp in Region 1A, 1B and 1C; and (4) maintains the changes to the shrimp catch reporting and purchase reporting requirements. 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Number of Sections Adopted in Order to Comply with Federal Statute: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; Federal Rules or Standards: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; or Recently Enacted State Statutes: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.
Number of Sections Adopted at the Request of a Nongovernmental Entity: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.
Number of Sections Adopted on the Agency's own Initiative: New 1, Amended 0, Repealed 1.
Number of Sections Adopted in Order to Clarify, Streamline, or Reform Agency Procedures: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.
Number of Sections Adopted using Negotiated Rule Making: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; Pilot Rule Making: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; or Other Alternative Rule Making: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.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: June 11, 2018.
Amy H. Windrope
for Joe Stohr
Director
NEW SECTION
WAC 220-340-52000PCommercial shrimp fishery—Puget Sound.
Notwithstanding the provisions of WAC 220-340-520, effective 6:00 p.m. June 12, 2018, 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 2E, 2W and 3 are open to the harvest of all non-spot shrimp species, effective immediately, until further notice, except as provided for in this section:
i. All water of Marine Fish/Shellfish Management and Catch Reporting Area 23 A-E, 23A-W, 23A-C and the Discovery Bay Shrimp District are closed.
ii. All waters of Shrimp Management Areas 1A, 1B and 1C are closed. This includes all waters inside and bounded by a line projected from Blakely Marina on the northwest corner of Blakely Island to Upright Head on Lopez Island, following the shoreline southerly on Lopez Island to intersect a line projected due west from Bald Bluff on Blakely Island.
(b) Effective immediately, 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 catch accounting week from Shrimp Management Areas 2E and 2W combined.
(c) Effective immediately, until further notice, the shrimp catch accounting week is Wednesday through Tuesday.
(d) 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 immediately, 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 east of a line projected 122.47°W longitude and west of a line projected 122.43°W longitude in Rosario Strait is open.
(c) That portion of Catch Area 22A within SMA 1B is open effective 6:00 a.m. May 16, 2018, until further notice.
(3) All shrimp taken under this section must be sold to licensed Washington wholesale fish dealers.
Reviser's note: The typographical error 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 6:00 p.m., June 12, 2018:
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WAC 220-340-52000N |
Puget Sound shrimp pot and beam trawl fishery—Season. (18-75) |