[Order 20-89—Filed May 27, 2020, 10:55 a.m., effective May 27, 2020, 10:55 a.m.]

Effective Date of Rule: Immediately upon filing.

Purpose: Amends Puget Sound commercial shrimp rules by closing commercial spot shrimp fishing on May 28, 2020, and June 1, 2020, in order to avoid gear conflicts with sport [spot] shrimp fishers during the first recreational openings. This rule also adds depth restrictions for nonspot shrimp and closes Region 1A to the harvest of nonspot shrimp to align with management agreements in the 1, 2-East and 2-West Regional Management plans.

Citation of Rules Affected by this Order: Repealing WAC 220-340-52000M; and amending WAC 220-340-520.

Statutory Authority for Adoption: RCW 77.04.012, 77.04.020, 77.12.045, and 77.12.047.

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 2020 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) Defines the shrimp management areas and regions open to spot and nonspot commercial harvest; (2) sets harvest restrictions for and opens the nonspot commercial pot fishery; (3) sets harvest restrictions for and opens the spot commercial pot fishery; (4) sets the harvest and gear limitations for and opens the Puget Sound shrimp trawl fishery; and (5) requires purchase of shrimp harvested by the designated fisheries to be done by appropriately licensed dealers. The emergency regulation is required to allow adequate flexibility for the state commercial shrimp fisheries to respond to dynamic changes in market conditions and ongoing changes of public health practices arising from the global COVID-19 pandemic. Sections of this regulation add additional reporting requirements to allow managers to track commercial fishing effort and to limit interaction between the state commercial harvesters and recreational users. This regulation finalizes recreational shrimp dates, provides flexibility in avoiding overlap between the recreational and commercial sectors in light of changing management circumstances arising from COVID-19, clarifies language to accurately reflect how shrimp harvest has been historically enforced, and to clarify rules governing concurrent harvest of spot shrimp and nonspot shrimp in Region 3 and Region 1, as agreed to in the Region 3 and Region 1 Management Plans to limit handling mortality of spot shrimp. This regulation also aligns state regulations with depth harvest restrictions of nonspot shrimp that has been agreed to in the 2-East and 2-West Regional Management Plans. 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 27, 2020.

WAC 220-340-52000NPuget Sound shrimp pot and trawl fishery—Season.

Effective immediately and until further notice, or until this rule expires on August 28, 2020 pursuant to RCW 34.05.350, the following provisions of WAC 220-340-520 regarding Puget Sound commercial shrimp pot harvest, non-spot shrimp harvest, spot shrimp harvest, trawl shrimp harvest and sales shall be described below. All other provisions of WAC 220-340-520 remain in effect.

(1) Shrimp Pot Harvests:

(a) All waters of Shrimp Management Areas 1A, 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 Marine Fish/Shellfish Management and Catch Reporting Areas (Catch Areas) 23A-E, 23A-W, 23A-C, and 23A-S are closed to the harvest of non-spot shrimp until the spot quota is attained in all sub-areas of 23A.

(ii) Discovery Bay Shrimp District is closed to the harvest of all shrimp species.

(iii) In Catch Area 22A, 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, are closed until 6:00 a.m. June 16, 2020.

(iv) Shrimp Management Areas 1B, 2E, and 2W are closed to the harvest of spot shrimp.

(2) Shrimp Non-spot Pot Harvest Restrictions

(a) The non-spot shrimp catch accounting period is weekly from Wednesday through Tuesday, totaling 7 days in length.

(b) 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 shrimp catch accounting week from Shrimp Management Areas 1B, 1C, 2E, and 2W combined.

(c) It is unlawful to harvest non-spot shrimp from Catch Reporting Area (Catch Area) 23A until the spot quota is attained in all sub-areas of 23A. Catch Area 23A is comprised of 23-E, 23A-W, 23A-C, and 23A-S.

(d) It is unlawful to harvest non-spot shrimp from Shrimp Management Area 1A until the spot quota is attained in all Catch Areas. Shrimp Management Area 1A is comprised Catch Areas 20B and 22A.

(e) Harvest of non-spot shrimp is not permitted deeper than 175 feet in Region 2W. Region 2W is comprised of Catch Areas 25B, 25C, 25D, and 26AW.

(f) Harvest of non-spot shrimp is not permitted deeper than 150 feet in Region 2E. Region 2E is comprised of Catch Areas 24A, 24B, 24C, 24D, and 26AE (26A northerly of a line drawn from the southern tip of Possession Point on Whidbey Island 110º true to the shipwreck on the opposite shore).

(g) It is unlawful to harvest non-spot and spot shrimp in the same day.

(h) It is unlawful to harvest shrimp in more than one Shrimp Management Area per day.

(3) Shrimp Spot Pot Harvest Restrictions:

(a) The initial spot shrimp catch accounting period is from May 5 through 11:59 p.m. on Tuesday, July 14, 2020.

(b) For the catch accounting period defined in 3(a) of this rule each fisher or alternate operator is required to report their intended catch area of harvest prior to the deployment of any spot shrimp gear to either shrimp.report@dfw.wa.gov or by text message to 360-302-6372.

(c) It is unlawful for the combined total harvest of spot shrimp by a fisher or the fisher's alternate operator to exceed 2000 pounds for the initial catch accounting period from Shrimp Management Areas 1A, 1C, and 3 combined.

(d) It is lawful to commercially harvest spot shrimp until 11:59 p.m. July 14, 2020, except between the hours of 12:00 a.m. to 11:59 p.m. on Wednesday, May 28th, 2020 or between the hours of 12:00 a.m. to 11:59 p.m. on Monday, June 1st.

(e) The second spot shrimp catch accounting period is biweekly from Wednesday through Tuesday, totaling 14 days in length, it is unlawful for the combined total harvest of spot shrimp by a fisher or the fisher's alternate operator to exceed 1200 pounds per catch accounting period from Shrimp Management Areas 1A, 1C, and 3 combined.

(f) It is unlawful to harvest non-spot and spot shrimp in the same day.

(g) It is unlawful to harvest shrimp in more than one Shrimp Management Area per day.

(4) 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) The remaining portion of Catch Area 22A within SMA 1B will open effective immediately, until further notice, or until this expire on August 28, 2020.

(5) All shrimp taken under this section must be sold to licensed Washington State wholesale fish dealers.

Reviser's note: The typographical errors in the above section occurred in the copy filed by the agency and appear in the Register pursuant to the requirements of RCW 34.08.040.

Reviser's note: The unnecessary underscoring 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.

The following section of the Washington Administrative Code is repealed:

Puget Sound shrimp pot and trawl fishery—Season. (20-77)