S-0750.1 _______________________________________________
SENATE BILL 5612
_______________________________________________
State of Washington 54th Legislature 1995 Regular Session
By Senators Owen, Oke, Sheldon and Winsley
Read first time 01/30/95. Referred to Committee on Natural Resources.
AN ACT Relating to management of salmon in Hood Canal; and adding a new chapter to Title 75 RCW.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:
NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. The legislature finds that the recreational fishing harvest of chinook salmon and coho salmon in Hood Canal has seriously declined over the last ten years. This situation has occurred during the terms of two governors and three different department of fisheries and department of fish and wildlife directors. Furthermore, there is no relief in sight given the current management approach. The legislature finds that immediate management changes are necessary in order to restore the recreational fisheries that have been lost.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 2. Unless the context clearly requires otherwise, the definitions in this section apply throughout this chapter.
(1) "Eligible for commercial harvest" or "commercially harvestable" means chum salmon and pink salmon.
(2) "Hood Canal" means all waters in Hood Canal south of the Hood Canal bridge.
(3) "Not eligible for commercial harvest" means chinook salmon and coho salmon.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 3. The director may not approve commercial fishing gear for use in Hood Canal waters unless it meets the following criteria:
(1) Capture of salmon must be conducted in a selective manner that assures that captured salmon are alive and that the gear will permit the live inspection of each captured salmon;
(2) Each captured salmon must be held in an unharmed condition until it can be determined that the salmon is eligible for commercial harvest or is a species or stock that is protected from commercial harvest;
(3) Each captured salmon that is not eligible for commercial harvest must be released unharmed into the waters from which it was captured;
(4) The process of sorting captured salmon to determine which are commercially harvestable and which must be released unharmed must be conducted as quickly and accurately as possible;
(5) Beach seine gear, purse seine gear, and fish traps that are operated in the proper manner qualify as legal commercial fishing gear in Hood Canal;
(6) Gill net gear, trawling gear, and trolling gear are not legal commercial fishing gear for Hood Canal; and
(7) The director may approve other commercial fishing gear that meets the criteria in subsections (1) through (4) of this section.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 4. Department salmon hatcheries or other salmon culture facilities that are located on tributaries of Hood Canal or that plant salmon into Hood Canal shall emphasize the production of chinook salmon and coho salmon. Production of chum salmon and pink salmon must be of lesser priority, in both numbers and pounds produced, than the production of chinook salmon and coho salmon.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 5. The director shall discuss the management implications of this chapter with the treaty Indian tribes that fish in Hood Canal, and shall strive to make the management approach specified by this chapter apply as broadly to the treaty Indian tribes as is feasible consistent with preservation of treaty fishing rights.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 6. Sections 1 through 5 of this act shall constitute a new chapter in Title 75 RCW.
--- END ---