WSR 19-18-082
EMERGENCY RULES
DEPARTMENT OF
FISH AND WILDLIFE
[Order 19-209—Filed September 3, 2019, 5:12 p.m., effective September 3, 2019, 5:12 p.m.]
Effective Date of Rule: Immediately upon filing.
Purpose: Amend commercial shrimp rules for Puget Sound.
Citation of Rules Affected by this Order: Repealing WAC 220-340-52000H; 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 2019 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 some areas; (2) opens spot shrimp for the final clean-up fishery in some areas; (3) opens reporting Areas 1B (20B, 22A East, 21A) and 1C (20A, 21A, 21B and 22B) to harvest of nonspot shrimp in the pot fishery; (4) implements a minimum mesh size restriction for spot shrimp gear; (5) maintains the closure of a portion of MF/SF Catch Reporting Area 20B within Shrimp Management Area 1B to harvest of shrimp with trawl gear; and (6) maintains other regulations and restrictions for the nonspot trawl and pot fisheries. 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Number of Sections Adopted in Order to Comply with Federal Statute: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; Federal Rules or Standards: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; or Recently Enacted State Statutes: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.
Number of Sections Adopted at the Request of a Nongovernmental Entity: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.
Number of Sections Adopted on the Agency's own Initiative: New 1, Amended 0, Repealed 1.
Number of Sections Adopted in Order to Clarify, Streamline, or Reform Agency Procedures: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.
Number of Sections Adopted using Negotiated Rule Making: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; Pilot Rule Making: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; or Other Alternative Rule Making: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.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: September 3, 2019.
Kelly Susewind
Director
NEW SECTION
WAC 220-340-52000IPuget Sound shrimp pot and trawl fishery—Season.
Notwithstanding the provisions of WAC 220-340-520, effective immediately, 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 (SMA) 1B, 1C, 2E, 2W, and 3 are open to the harvest of all shrimp species, effective immediately, 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 2E are closed to the harvest of spot shrimp and open to the harvest of non-spot shrimps. The total harvest of non-spot shrimp by a fisher or the fisher's alternate operator in Area 2E may not exceed 400 pounds per weekly management period.
(iii) All waters of Shrimp Management Area 2W are closed to the harvest of spot shrimp and open to the harvest of non-spot shrimps.
(iv) All waters Shrimp Management Area 3 are closed to the harvest of spot shrimp and open to the harvest of non-spot shrimps.
(v) All waters of Shrimp Management Area 1B (20B, 22A East, 21A) and 1C (20A, 21A, 21B and 22B) are closed to the harvest of spot shrimp and open to the harvest of non-spot shrimps.
(vi) All waters of Catch Area 23A West in Shrimp Management Area 3 are closed to harvest of spot shrimp.
(vii) All waters of Catch Area 23A Central in Shrimp Management Area 3 are closed to harvest of spot shrimp.
(viii) Effective immediately until 11:59 pm on September 15, 2019, all waters of Catch Area 23A South and 23D in Shrimp Management Area 3 are open to harvest of spot shrimp.
(ix) Effective immediately until 11:59 pm on September 15, 2019, all waters of Catch Area 23C in Shrimp Management Area 3 are open to harvest of spot shrimp.
(x) Effective immediately until 11:59 pm on September 7, 2019, all waters of Catch Area 25A outside District 1 in Shrimp Management Area 3 are open to harvest of spot shrimp.
(xi) Effective immediately until September 15, 2019, all waters of Catch Area 29 in Shrimp Management Area 3 are open to harvest of spot shrimp.
(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 weekly management period from Shrimp Management Area 2W and 2E, 1B, and 1C.
(c) Effective immediately, the shrimp weekly management period is Wednesday through Tuesday.
(d) 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.
(e) 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.
(b) That portion of Catch Area 21A within SMA 1B is open.
(c) That portion of Catch Area 22A within SMA 1B is open.
(d) That portion of Catch Area 20B within SMA 1B is closed.
(e) Catch Area 20A is open.
(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:
WAC 220-340-52000H | Puget Sound shrimp pot and beam trawl fishery—Season. (19-198) |