S-3848.1  _______________________________________________

                    SUBSTITUTE SENATE BILL 6313

          _______________________________________________

State of Washington   57th Legislature        2002 Regular Session

By Senate Committee on Natural Resources, Parks & Shorelines (originally sponsored by Senator Oke)

READ FIRST TIME 02/04/2002.

Providing for the retrieval of derelict fishing gear.

    AN ACT Relating to derelict fishing gear; adding new sections to chapter 77.12 RCW; adding a new section to chapter 77.55 RCW; and creating a new section.

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

NEW SECTION. Sec. 1.  The legislature finds that fishing gear that is lost or abandoned may continue to catch marine organisms long after the gear is lost.  The purpose of this act is to develop safe, effective methods to remove derelict fishing gear, eliminate regulatory barriers to gear removal, and discourage future losses of fishing gear.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 2.  A new section is added to chapter 77.12 RCW to read as follows:

    (1) As used in this section and section 3 of this act, "derelict fishing gear" includes lost or abandoned fishing nets, fishing lines, crab pots, shrimp pots, and other commercial and recreational fishing equipment.  The term does not include lost or abandoned vessels.

    (2) The department, in partnership with the Northwest straits commission, the department of natural resources, and other interested parties, must publish guidelines for the safe removal and disposal of derelict fishing gear.  The guidelines must be completed by August 31, 2002, and made available to any person interested in derelict fishing gear removal.

    (3) Derelict fishing gear removal conducted in accordance with the guidelines prepared in subsection (2) of this section is not subject to permitting under RCW 77.55.100.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 3.  A new section is added to chapter 77.12 RCW to read as follows:

    (1) The department, in consultation with the Northwest straits commission, the department of natural resources, and other interested parties, must create and maintain a data base of known derelict fishing gear, including the type of gear and its location.

    (2) A person who loses or abandons commercial fishing gear within the waters of the state is encouraged to report the location of the loss and the type of gear lost to the department within forty-eight hours of the loss.

    (3) The department, in consultation with fishing industry groups and tribal comanagers, must evaluate methods to reduce future losses of fishing gear and report the results of this evaluation to the appropriate legislative committees by January 1, 2003.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 4.  A new section is added to chapter 77.55 RCW to read as follows:

    The removal of derelict fishing gear does not require written approval under this chapter if the gear is removed according to the guidelines described in section 2 of this act.

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