WSR 20-23-005
EMERGENCY RULES
DEPARTMENT OF
FISH AND WILDLIFE
[Order 20-244—Filed November 5, 2020, 2:05 p.m., effective November 5, 2020, 2:05 p.m.]
Effective Date of Rule: Immediately upon filing.
Purpose: The purpose of this emergency rule is to close Puget Sound Crab Management Region 1 to commercial harvest and commercial pot deployment effective November 7, 2020, at 7:00 p.m.
Citation of Rules Affected by this Order: Repealing WAC 220-340-45500K; and amending WAC 220-340-455.
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 provisions of this emergency rule:
(1) Closes Puget Sound Crab Management Region 1 to commercial harvest and commercial pot deployment effective November 7, 2020, at 7:00 p.m. to reserve a portion of the available quota for a harvest opportunity later in the season;
(2) Permits commercial crab harvest in Puget Sound within Crab Management Regions 2 West, 3-2, and 3-3 until further notice;
(3) Closes commercial crab harvest in Crab Management Region 2 East until further notice;
(4) Sets a limit of thirty-five pots per license per buoy tag number in Crab Management Region 1 and fifty pots per license per buoy tag number in commercial crab Regions 2 West, 3-2, and 3-3;
(5) Reduces pot limits to thirty-five per license for Regions 2 West and 3-2 after November 7.
Region 1 will close at 7:00 p.m. on November 7, 2020, until further notice to reserve approximately two hundred thousand pounds of quota to be held for late season harvest. In addition, pot limits in Regions 2 West and 3-2 will be reduced to thirty-five pots per license to meter fishery landings. There is insufficient allocation to accommodate state commercial harvest in Region 2E. There is sufficient allocation available in Regions 2 West, 3-2, and 3-3 to accommodate continued state commercial harvest. These provisions are in conformity with agreed management plans with applicable tribes. These management plans are entered into as required by court order. The Puget Sound commercial season is structured to meet harvest allocation objectives negotiated with applicable treaty tribes and outlined in the management plans. There is insufficient time to adopt permanent rules. Further adjustment of season structure may be made pending updated harvest data.
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: November 5, 2020.
Kelly Susewind
Director
NEW SECTION
WAC 220-340-45500LCommercial crab fishery—Seasons and areas—Puget Sound.
Notwithstanding the provisions of WAC 220-340-450:
(1) Effective immediately until further notice, it is illegal to harvest Dungeness crab for commercial purposes in Crab Management Regions 2 East and 3-1.
(2) Effective immediately and until 6:59 p.m. on November 7, 2020, it is permissible to harvest Dungeness crab for commercial purposes in Crab Management Region 1.
(3) Effective 7:00 p.m. on November 7, 2020 until further notice, it is illegal to harvest Dungeness crab for commercial purposes in Crab Management Region 1.
(4) Effective immediately and until further notice, it is permissible to harvest Dungeness crab for commercial purposes in Crab Management Regions 2 West, 3-2, and 3-3.
(5) Effective immediately and until 6:59 p.m. on November 7, 2020, it is permissible to harvest Dungeness crab for commercial purposes in the following areas in Crab Management Region 1:
(a) Those waters of Marine Fish-Shellfish Management and Catch Reporting Area 20A between a line from the boat ramp at the western boundary of Birch Bay State Park to the western point of the entrance of the Birch Bay Marina and a line from the same boat ramp to Birch Point.
(b) Those waters of Marine Fish-Shellfish Management and Catch Reporting Area 22B in Fidalgo Bay south of a line projected from the red number 4 entrance buoy at Cape Sante Marina to the northern end of the eastern most oil dock.
(c) Those waters of Marine Fish-Shellfish Management and Catch Reporting Area 22A in Deer Harbor north of a line projected from Steep Point to Pole Pass.
(6) Effective immediately and until further notice, it is permissible to harvest Dungeness crab for commercial purposes in the following area in Crab Management Region 2 West:
(a) Those waters of Marine Fish-Shellfish Management and Catch Reporting Area 26A-W in Useless Bay north and east of a line from the south end of the Double Bluff State Park seawall (47°58.782'N, 122°30.840'W) projected 110 degrees true to the boulder on shore (47°57.690'N, 122°26.742'W).
(7) Effective immediately and until further notice, it is illegal to harvest Dungeness crab for commercial purposes in the following areas in Crab Management Region 2 East:
(a) That portion of Marine Fish-Shellfish Management and Catch Reporting Area 24C shoreward of the 400-foot depth contour within an area described by two lines projected northeasterly from Sandy Point and the entrance to the marina at Langley.
(b) That portion of Marine Fish-Shellfish Management and Catch Reporting Area 26A-E east of a line that extends true north from the green #1 buoy at Possession Point to Possession Point, and west of a line from the green #1 buoy at Possession Point extending northward along the 200-foot depth contour to the Glendale dock.
(c) That portion of Marine Fish-Shellfish Catch Reporting Area 26A east of a line projected from the outermost tip of the ferry dock at Mukilteo, projected to the green #3 buoy at the mouth of the Snohomish River, and west of a line projected from that #3 buoy southward to the oil boom pier on the shoreline.
(8) Effective immediately until further notice, the following areas are closed to commercial crab fishing:
(a) That portion of Marine Fish-Shellfish Management and Catch Reporting Area 25A west of the 123°7.0' longitude line projected from the new Dungeness light due south to the shore of Dungeness Bay.
(b) That portion of Marine Fish-Shellfish Management and Catch Reporting Area 23D a line from the eastern tip of Ediz Hook to the ITT Rayonier Dock.
(c) Those waters of Marine Fish-Shellfish Management and Catch Reporting Area 24A east of a line projected true north from the most westerly tip of Skagit Island and extending south to the most westerly tip of Hope Island, thence southeast to Seal Rocks, thence southeast to the green can buoy at the mouth of Swinomish Channel, thence easterly to the west side of Goat Island.
(9) Effective immediately until 6:59 p.m. on November 7, 2020, it is unlawful for any person to harvest crabs for commercial purposes with more than 35 pots per license per buoy tag number in Crab Management Region 1 and with more than 50 pots per license per buoy tag number in Crab Management Regions 2 West and 3-2.
(10) Effective immediately until further notice it is unlawful for any person to harvest crabs for commercial purposes with more than 50 pots per license per buoy tag number in Crab Management Regions 3-3.
(11) Effective 7:00 p.m. November 7, 2020 until further notice, it is unlawful for any person to harvest crabs for commercial purposes with more than 35 pots per license per buoy tag number in Crab Management Region 2 West and 3-2.
(12) All remaining, undeployed buoy tags per license per region must be onboard the designated vessel and available for immediate inspection.
REPEALER
The following section of the Washington Administrative Code is repealed:
WAC 220-340-45500K | Commercial crab fishery—Seasons and areas—Puget Sound. (20-230) |