SB 5021 - DIGEST

     Requires that the director of fish and wildlife must place department employees or trained volunteers on certain commercial net fishing boats.  The catch observers must be placed on boats that are authorized to commercially fish for salmon in areas where salmon stocks listed under the endangered species act are known to occur in mixed stock areas.

     Declares that the intent of the catch observers is to document the degree of catch of threatened or endangered fish during each commercial net fishery, and to reduce the level of threatened or endangered salmon caught to an absolute minimum.

     Requires that catch observers must also be utilized to estimate the immediate or delayed mortality rate of endangered or threatened salmon caught and released within each net fishery.