WSR 18-16-069
EMERGENCY RULES
DEPARTMENT OF
FISH AND WILDLIFE
[Order 18-178—Filed July 27, 2018, 5:52 p.m., effective August 1, 2018]
Effective Date of Rule: August 1, 2018.
Purpose: Amend recreational sturgeon fishing rules for Lake Roosevelt.
Citation of Rules Affected by this Order: Repealing WAC 220-312-05000G; and amending WAC 220-312-050.
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: Fishery managers in Washington state and British Columbia began sturgeon hatchery programs in the early 2000s in response to a decades-long decline in the white sturgeon population in Lake Roosevelt. Survival rates for those hatchery-produced juvenile sturgeon were much higher than was anticipated. As a result, there is a surplus of these fish available for harvest from Lake Roosevelt. The portion of Lake Roosevelt between China Bend and the Canadian border is managed as a spawning sanctuary for white sturgeon. Sturgeon spawning is completed by August 1, so a one month harvest fishery will be opened in this area. 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Number of Sections Adopted in Order to Comply with Federal Statute: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; Federal Rules or Standards: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; or Recently Enacted State Statutes: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.
Number of Sections Adopted at the Request of a Nongovernmental Entity: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.
Number of Sections Adopted on the Agency's own Initiative: New 1, Amended 0, Repealed 1.
Number of Sections Adopted in Order to Clarify, Streamline, or Reform Agency Procedures: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.
Number of Sections Adopted using Negotiated Rule Making: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; Pilot Rule Making: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; or Other Alternative Rule Making: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.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: July 27, 2018.
Nate Pamplin
for Joe Stohr
Director
NEW SECTION
WAC 220-312-05000SFreshwater exceptions to statewide rules—Eastside.
Notwithstanding the provisions of WAC 220-312-050:
(1) Effective immediately through August 31, 2018, it is permissible to fish for sturgeon in waters of Lake Roosevelt from Grand Coulee Dam upstream to the Canadian Border (including the Spokane River from Highway 25 Bridge upstream to 400' below Little Falls Dam, Colville River upstream to Meyers Falls and the Kettle River upstream to Barstow Bridge).
(a) Daily limit of one sturgeon between 53 and 63 inches fork length. Annual limit of two sturgeon.
(b) Anglers are required to record harvested sturgeon on a Catch Record Card.
(c) Anglers may fish with two poles with the purchase of a Two-Pole Endorsement license.
(d) Night closure is in effect. All other statewide rules for white sturgeon apply.
REPEALER
The following section of the Washington Administrative Code is repealed effective August 1, 2018:
| |
WAC 220-312-05000G |
Freshwater exceptions to statewide rules—Eastside. (18-74) |