Effective Date of Rule: Immediately upon filing.
Purpose: Amend recreational fishing rules for the halibut fishery.
Citation of Rules Affected by this Order: Repealing WAC 220-314-03000S; and amending WAC 220-314-030.
Reasons for this Finding: This rule is needed to add additional fishing days to the 2019 halibut season for some areas. Adding these days will provide additional angling opportunity. This rule is in line with federal action taken by the Pacific Fisheries Management Council, International Pacific Halibut Commission and the interim final rule adopted by the National Marine Fisheries Service. 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Number of Sections Adopted in Order to Comply with Federal Statute: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; Federal Rules or Standards: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; or Recently Enacted State Statutes: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.
Number of Sections Adopted at the Request of a Nongovernmental Entity: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.
Number of Sections Adopted on the Agency's own Initiative: New 1, Amended 0, Repealed 1.
Number of Sections Adopted in Order to Clarify, Streamline, or Reform Agency Procedures: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.
Number of Sections Adopted using Negotiated Rule Making: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; Pilot Rule Making: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; or Other Alternative Rule Making: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.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: May 31, 2019.
Notwithstanding the provisions of WAC 220-314-030, 220-314-040, and 220-314-010, effective immediately until further notice, it is unlawful to fish for or possess halibut taken for personal use, except as provided in this section:
(1) Catch Record Card Area 1:
(a) Open Thursday June 20.
(b) It is unlawful during any vessel trip to bring into port or land bottomfish except sablefish, Pacific Cod, or flat fish species when halibut are on board.
(c) Lingcod can be retained when halibut are on board, during the halibut season north of the Washington-Oregon border.
(2) Catch Record Card Area 1 (Nearshore fishery); Those waters shoreward from 46°38.17'N. lat., 124°15.88'W. long., to the WA/OR border at 46°16.00'N. lat., 24°15.88'W. long. (then connecting to the 40 fathom depth contour in Oregon):
a) Open Mondays and Wednesdays. Beginning Thursday, June 6 open seven days per week.
b) It is permissible to retain bottomfish while possessing halibut onboard boats in the nearshore area.
(3) Catch Record Card Area 2: Open Thursday, June 6 and Thursday June 20.
(a) Immediately through May 31, it is unlawful to fish for or possess lingcod, seaward of line approximating the 30-fathom depth contour as defined by the coordinates below. However, a person may fish for and retain lingcod on days open during the primary halibut season seaward of a line approximating the 30-fathom depth contour as defined by the coordinates below:
47°31.70'N. lat., 124°37.03'W. long.
47°25.67'N. lat., 124°34.79'W. long.
47°12.82'N. lat., 124°29.12'W. long.
46°52.94'N. lat., 124°22.58'W. long.
46°44.18'N. lat., 124°18.00'W. long.
46°38.17'N. lat., 124°15.88'W. long.
(4) Card Areas 3 and 4:
(a) Open Thursday, June 6; Saturday, June 8; Saturday June 15; Thursday, June 20; Saturday, June 22
(b) The following area southwest of Cape Flattery is closed to fishing for halibut at all times:
Beginning at 48º18' N., 125º18' W.; thence to
48º18'N., 124º59'W.; thence to
48º11'N., 124º59'W.; thence to
48º11'N., 125º11'W., thence to
48º04'N., 125º11'W.; thence to
48º04'N., 124º59'W.; thence to
48ºN., 124º59'W.; thence to
48ºN., 125º18'W.; thence to point of origin.
(c) In Marine Areas 3 and 4 (west of the Bonille-Tatoosh Line); effective June 1: it is unlawful to fish for or possess bottomfish seaward of a line approximating the 20-fathom depth contour except, on days open to the Pacific halibut fishery in these areas, it is permissible to retain lingcod, sablefish and Pacific cod seaward of the 20 fathom depth contour as defined by the following coordinates:
48°23.9'N. lat., 124°44.2'W. long.
48°23.6'N. lat., 124°44.9'W. long.
48°18.6'N. lat., 124°43.6'W. long.
48°18.6'N. lat., 124°48.2'W. long.
48°10.0'N. lat., 124°48.8'W. long.
48°02.4'N. lat., 124°49.3'W. long.
47°37.6'N. lat., 124°34.3'W. long.
47°31.7'N. lat., 124°32.4'W. long.
(d) In Marine Area 4 (east of the Bonilla-Tatoosh Line) it is unlawful to fish for or possess bottomfish seaward of a line approximating 120-feet (20 fathoms), except, on days open to the Pacific halibut fishery in this area, it is permissible to retain lingcod, and Pacific cod seaward of the 120 feet (20 fathoms) as defined by WAC 220-314-010.
(5) Catch Record Card Area 5 through 10:
(a) Open Saturday, June 1; Thursday, June 6; Saturday, June 8; Thursday, June 13; Saturday, June 15; Thursday, June 20; Thursday June 27; Saturday, June 22; and, Saturday, June 29.
(b) It is permissible for halibut anglers to retain lingcod and Pacific cod caught while fishing for halibut in waters deeper than 120 feet on days when halibut fishing is open in Area 5.
(6) Catch Record Card Areas 11, 12 and 13: Closed.
(7) Daily limit one halibut, no minimum size limit. The possession limit is two daily limits of halibut in any form, except the possession limit aboard the fishing vessel is one daily limit.
(8) It is unlawful to land halibut in a port within an area closed to halibut fishing.
(9) Annual halibut limit is four.
(10) All other permanent rules remain in effect.