WSR 24-08-023
EMERGENCY RULES
DEPARTMENT OF
FISH AND WILDLIFE
[Order 24-47—Filed March 25, 2024, 4:43 p.m., effective March 26, 2024]
Effective Date of Rule: March 26, 2024.
Purpose: The purpose of this emergency rule is to close salmon seasons in Marine Area 10, except in the Agate Pass catch and release fishery and for year-round piers.
Citation of Rules Affected by this Order: Repealing WAC 220-313-06000Q; and 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: Estimates of landed catch to date indicate that anglers have reached 145 percent of the total encounters (4,953), 100 percent of sublegal encounters (4,181), and 125 percent of unmarked encounters (953) agreed to in this year's list of agreed fisheries. It is necessary to close Marine Area 10 salmon seasons due to reaching or exceeding fishery controls. 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Number of Sections Adopted in Order to Comply with Federal Statute: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; Federal Rules or Standards: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; or Recently Enacted State Statutes: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.
Number of Sections Adopted at the Request of a Nongovernmental Entity: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.
Number of Sections Adopted on the Agency's own Initiative: New 1, Amended 0, Repealed 1.
Number of Sections Adopted in Order to Clarify, Streamline, or Reform Agency Procedures: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.
Number of Sections Adopted using Negotiated Rule Making: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; Pilot Rule Making: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; or Other Alternative Rule Making: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.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: March 25, 2024.
Kelly Susewind
Director
NEW SECTION
WAC 220-313-06000RPuget Sound salmon—Saltwater seasons and daily limits.
Effective March 26 through April 15, 2024, salmon rules for Catch Record Card Areas 10 and 11 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:
(1) Catch Record Card Area 10, except Agate Pass (waters west of a line from Point Monroe to Indianola and east of a line from Point Bolin to Battle Point), and year-round piers (Seacrest Pier, Waterman Pier, Bremerton Boardwalk, and Illahee State Park Pier):
Salmon: Closed.
(2) Catch Record Card Area 11, except year-round piers (Des Moines Pier, Les Davis Pier, and Point Defiance Boathouse Dock):
(a) Salmon: Open Wednesday through Saturday only, each week; daily limit 2 including no more than 1 hatchery Chinook. Release wild Chinook and chum. Closed Sunday through Tuesday, each week.
(b) Commencement Bay (east of a line from Cliff House Restaurant to Sperry Ocean Dock): Closed to fishing for or retention of salmon.
REPEALER
The following section of Washington Administrative Code is repealed, effective March 26, 2024:
WAC 220-313-06000Q | Puget Sound salmon—Saltwater seasons and daily limits. (24-19) |