S‑0432.2   _____________________________________________

SENATE BILL 5021

           _____________________________________________

State of Washington      57th Legislature     2001 Regular Session

By Senator Oke

Read first time 01/08/2001.  Referred to Committee on Natural Resources, Parks & Shorelines.

_1      AN ACT Relating to the protection of threatened or endangered

_2  salmon in commercial salmon net fisheries; and adding new sections

_3  to chapter 77.12 RCW.

_4  BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

_5      NEW SECTION. Sec. 1.  The director must place department

_6  employees or trained volunteers on certain commercial net fishing

_7  boats.  The catch observers must be placed on boats that are

_8  authorized to commercially fish for salmon in areas where salmon

_9  stocks listed under the endangered species act are known to occur

10  in mixed stock areas.  The intent of the catch observers is to

11  document the degree of catch of threatened or endangered fish

12  during each commercial net fishery, and to reduce the level of

13  threatened or endangered salmon caught to an absolute

14  minimum.  Catch observers must also be utilized to estimate the

15  immediate or delayed mortality rate of endangered or threatened

16  salmon caught and released within each net fishery.

17      The director must use the best statistical methods to determine

18  the number and distribution of catch observers in each commercial

                               p. 1                       SB 5021

_1  salmon net fishery in order to achieve statistically valid

_2  sampling of the threatened or endangered component of the catch in

_3  each fishery.  In no case may such a net fishery be authorized

_4  without prior arrangements for placement of a statistically valid

_5  number of catch observers on the boats participating in the

_6  fishery.

_7      NEW SECTION. Sec. 2.  The commission may not authorize a

_8  commercial net fishery for salmon in any geographic area where

_9  threatened or endangered salmon are known to occur without

10  ensuring that the director will place sufficient catch observers

11  on the boats that participate in the fishery in compliance with

12  section 1 of this act.

13      NEW SECTION. Sec. 3.  The director must provide the data

14  generated by catch observers under section 1 of this act to the

15  treaty Indian tribes, federal fisheries management agencies, and

16  to the public.  Data from the catch observer program must be

17  included in the department's comprehensive biennial report of all

18  department operations, as required in RCW 77.04.120.

19      NEW SECTION. Sec. 4.  Sections 1 through 3 of this act are each

20  added to chapter 77.12 RCW.

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SB 5021                        p. 2