WSR 21-07-031

EMERGENCY RULES

DEPARTMENT OF

FISH AND WILDLIFE

[Order 21-31—Filed March 9, 2021, 11:27 a.m., effective March 13, 2021]

Effective Date of Rule: March 13, 2021.

Purpose: The Washington department of fish and wildlife (WDFW) is enacting these rules to conform to federal regulations as these rules have been adopted by the National Marine Fisheries Service.

Citation of Rules Affected by this Order: Amending WAC 220-314-010, 220-314-020, 220-314-030, and 220-314-040.

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: These changes are consistent with actions taken by the Pacific Fishery Management Council (PFMC), which includes an extensive stakeholder process. Through the delegation of authority provided by the fish and wildlife commission to the director, WDFW regulatory changes for consistency with PFMC actions may be approved by the director via expedited rule making.

Recreational fisheries in Washington are primarily constrained by yelloweye rockfish. Depth restrictions have been an effective tool for minimizing encounters and keeping catch within state specific harvest guidelines (HG). Largely influenced by the federal yelloweye rockfish annual catch limit, regulatory changes focus on the timing and need for depth and area restrictions. The regulatory changes also consider reducing restrictions on the retention of healthy rockfish species and take an additional incremental step toward the relaxation of depth and area closures that began in 2019 and 2020.

WAC 220-314-040 Bottomfish and halibut—Closed areas, this change would open the Westport Offshore Recreational YRCA and the South Coast Recreational YRCA to fishing for, retaining, and possessing bottomfish or halibut.

WAC 220-314-020 Possession limits—Bottomfish, this change would allow five flatfish in addition to the nine daily bottomfish limit.

WAC 220-314-030 Halibut—Seasons—Daily and possession limits, regulation changes are necessary to revise depth restrictions in Marine Area 1 through 4. Federal harvest quotas for yelloweye rockfish in Washington for 2021 and 2022 are sufficient to allow relaxation of depth restrictions and provides access to healthy lingcod resources that are commonly associated with yelloweye rockfish. The 20-fathom depth restriction in Marine Areas 3 and 4 west of the Bonilla-Tatoosh line would be in place from June 1 through July 31. Yellowtail and widow rockfish retention is allowed seaward of the one-hundred twenty foot depth restriction in July and August in Marine Area 4 east of the Bonilla-Tatoosh line and would be allowed seaward of the twenty fathom depth restriction in Marine Areas 3 and 4 west of the Bonilla-Tatoosh line in the month of July.

In Marine Area 2, the 30-fathom line would be in place from May 1 to May 31.

In Marine Area 1 anglers would be allowed to retain the following bottomfish when halibut is on board: Sablefish, Pacific cod, flatfish, yellowtail, widow, canary, redstriped, greenstriped, silvergray, chilipepper, bocaccio, blue and deacon rockfish, as well as lingcod north of the Washington-Oregon [border].

In Marine Areas 3 and 4, anglers will be allowed to retain lingcod, sablefish, Pacific cod, bocaccio, silvergray, canary, widow, and yellowtail rockfish.

WAC 220-314-040 Lingcod—Areas and seasons, a deepwater closed area is in place in Marine Area 1; this rule change would allow lingcod retention in this deepwater area from June 1 through June 15.

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 4, Amended 0, Repealed 0.

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: March 9, 2021.

Amy H. Windrope

for Kelly Susewind

Director