WSR 23-16-054
EMERGENCY RULES
DEPARTMENT OF
FISH AND WILDLIFE
[Order 23-141—Filed July 26, 2023, 9:55 a.m., effective July 28, 2023]
Effective Date of Rule: July 28, 2023.
Purpose: This emergency rule is needed to open recreational salmon seasons in Catch Record Card Area 7.
Citation of Rules Affected by this Order: Amending WAC 220-313-060.
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: This emergency rule is necessary to open salmon seasons in Catch Record Card Area 7. Catch estimates for the Marine Area 7 summer Chinook fishery indicate that through July 21, 2023, 78 percent of the harvest quota (1,696 of 2,181) has been reached; 23 percent of unmarked encounters (971 of 4,258) and 64 percent of sublegal encounters (1,618 of 2,554) have also been accounted for. Based on daily catch rates thus far, this allows space for two additional days of fishing to be added to the 2023 summer Chinook season. 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Number of Sections Adopted in Order to Comply with Federal Statute: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; Federal Rules or Standards: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; or Recently Enacted State Statutes: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.
Number of Sections Adopted at the Request of a Nongovernmental Entity: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.
Number of Sections Adopted on the Agency's own Initiative: New 1, Amended 0, Repealed 0.
Number of Sections Adopted in Order to Clarify, Streamline, or Reform Agency Procedures: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.
Number of Sections Adopted using Negotiated Rule Making: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; Pilot Rule Making: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; or Other Alternative Rule Making: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.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: July 26, 2023.
Kelly Susewind
Director
NEW SECTION
WAC 220-313-06000BPuget Sound salmon—Saltwater seasons and daily limits.
Effective July 28 through July 29, 2023, for Catch Record Card Area 7, the following provisions of WAC 220-313-060 regarding salmon seasons shall be modified as described herein. All other provisions of WAC 220-313-060 not addressed herein, or unless otherwise amended by emergency rule, remain in effect:
Catch Record Card Area 7:
(a) Daily limit 2 salmon, including no more than 1 hatchery Chinook. Release chum, wild Chinook and wild coho.
(b) Waters of Rosario Strait and Eastern Strait of Juan de Fuca closure area described in WAC 220-313-020(7): Closed.
(c) Waters of Bellingham Bay described in WAC 220-313-020(1): Closed.
(d) Lummi Bay: Waters east of a line from Gooseberry Point to Sandy Point: Closed.