S-3498

AN ACT Relating to purchase of Columbia river/Willapa Bay/Grays Harbor commercial salmon licenses; adding new sections to Title 75 RCW; and providing an effective date.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. The director shall develop a program for the purchase and permanent retirement of Columbia river/Willapa Bay and Columbia river/Grays Harbor commercial salmon fishing licenses. The director shall administer the program in three phases. The program shall be subject to funding and the program shall not begin until full funding was available for all three phases.

The director shall solicit funding from all potential funding sources for the purpose of sections 1 through 6 of this act.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 2. Phase one of the fishing license buy-out plan established in section 1 of this act shall be conducted as follows:

(1) A mandatory purchase of all licenses that have not landed either:

(a) One thousand pounds of salmon in Washington in each of the years of 1991, 1990, 1989, 1988, 1987; or

(b) Two thousand five hundred pounds of salmon in Washington during 1990 and 1991.

(2) Phase one license purchases shall be at five thousand dollars each.

(3) Licensees may appeal to the director to waive the landing requirement in subsection (1) of this section on the grounds of illness or an unforeseen emergency. The director may review the appeals or establish an advisory board to hear the appeals under RCW 75.30.050.

(4) Licenses purchased in phase one shall be permanently retired from the fishing fleet.

(5) After phase one is completed, no minimum poundage requirements are necessary for license renewal.

(6) No additional vessel operators are allowed during phase one.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 3. Phase two of the license buy-out plan established in section 1 of this act shall begin after phase one is completed and shall be in effect no longer than ninety days.

(1) All purchases of licenses in phase two shall be strictly voluntary. The licensees shall be afforded the opportunity to sell their licenses on a willing basis.

(2) The price of licenses purchased in phase two shall be fifty thousand dollars for Columbia river/Grays Harbor licenses, fifty thousand dollars for Columbia river/Willapa Bay licenses, and seventy-five thousand dollars for Columbia river/Grays Harbor/Willapa Bay licenses.

(3) Licenses purchased in phase two shall be permanently retired from the fishing fleet.

(4) No minimum poundage requirements are in effect in phase two.

(5) No additional vessel operators are allowed in phase two.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 4. Phase three of the buy-out plan established in section 1 of this act shall begin after phase two has ended and shall be in effect until the entire gillnet fleet is reduced to one hundred twenty-five Columbia river/Willapa Bay licenses and seventy-five Columbia River/Grays Harbor licenses.

Phase three shall be conducted in the following manner:

(1) A voluntary purchase of licenses on the basis of ten thousand dollars for a Columbia river/Grays Harbor license, ten thousand dollars for a Columbia river/Willapa Bay license, and thirty thousand dollars for a Columbia river/Grays Harbor/Willapa Bay license.

(2) The total number of Columbia river/Grays harbor and Columbia river/Willapa Bay licenses shall not be allowed to drop below one hundred fifty licenses.

(3) No minimum poundage requirements are in effect during and after phase three.

(4) Licenses purchased in phase three shall be permanently retired from the fishing fleet.

(5) When the number of licenses reaches two hundred, additional vessel operators may be added.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 5. Columbia river/Grays Harbor, Columbia river/Willapa Bay, and Columbia river/Grays Harbor/Willapa Bay salmon gillnet licenses are freely transferable.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 6. The salmon catch division between non-Indian commercial and recreational fisheries shall not change from historical levels experienced in the 1980-1991 time period as a result of sections 1 through 6 of this act.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 7. Sections 1 through 6 of this act are each added to Title 75 RCW.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 8. If any provision of this act or its application to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the remainder of the act or the application of the provision to other persons or circumstances is not affected.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 9. This act shall take effect January 1, 1993.