BILL REQ. #:  H-1442.2 

Read first time .   Referred to .

     AN ACT Relating to Dungeness crab fisheries in Puget Sound; amending RCW 77.32.430; adding a new section to chapter 77.32 RCW; adding new sections to chapter 77.65 RCW; adding new sections to chapter 77.70 RCW; and creating a new section.

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

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 1   It is the intent of the legislature to create a more equitable and fair allocation of the Dungeness crab resource between recreational and nontribal commercial fisheries statewide. Recreational fishing is one of the most popular outdoor activities in the state of Washington. The legislature finds that Dungeness crab fishing is a major component of the recreational fishing experience in Puget Sound and the opportunity for quality recreational fisheries has steadily declined due to increased participation outpacing provided allocation. Both the recreational and commercial fisheries provide economic benefits to the state of Washington. Commercial fisheries provide product to those citizens who do not crab themselves. Coastal and ocean regions of the state of Washington are more suited to substantial, quality commercial Dungeness crab fisheries due to safety and access obstacles experienced by recreational anglers in the natural course of fishing for Dungeness crab. Puget Sound is a suitable location for a substantial, quality recreational opportunity for Dungeness crab fishing.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 2   A new section is added to chapter 77.32 RCW to read as follows:
     (1) A license to take and possess Dungeness crab is only valid in Puget Sound east of the Bonilla-Tatoosh line if the fisher has in possession a valid catch record card officially endorsed for Dungeness crab. The endorsement costs ten dollars, not including any fees authorized under RCW 77.32.050, and must be disbursed as required under section 6 of this act, beginning with the sale of endorsements for the next license year after the effective date of this section.
     (2) Starting with endorsements sold for the license year after the completion of the buyback program created in section 8 of this act, the fee for the Dungeness crab endorsement may be no more than three dollars including any fees authorized under RCW 77.32.050. The fees must be deposited in the recreational Dungeness crab endorsement account, created in section 7 of this act.
     (3) Catch record cards issued with affixed temporary short-term charter stamp licenses are not subject to the Dungeness crab endorsement fee provided for in this section.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 3   A new section is added to chapter 77.65 RCW to read as follows:
     The definitions in this section apply throughout sections 4 and 5 of this act unless the context clearly requires otherwise.
     (1) "Crustacean management region 1" means all waters of marine fish-shellfish management and catch reporting areas 20A, 20B, 21A, 21B, 22A, and 22B as defined in WAC 220-22-400 as of January 1, 2005.
     (2) "Crustacean management region 2" means all waters of marine fish-shellfish management and catch reporting areas 24A, 24B, 24C, 24D, 25B, 25C, 25D, and 26A as defined in WAC 220-22-400 as of January 1, 2005.
     (3) "Crustacean management region 3-1" means all waters of marine fish-shellfish management and catch reporting areas 23A and 23B as defined in WAC 220-22-400 as of January 1, 2005.
     (4) "Crustacean management region 3-2" means all waters of marine fish-shellfish management and catch reporting areas 25A, 25E, and 23D as defined in WAC 220-22-400 as of January 1, 2005.
     (5) "Crustacean management region 3-3" means all waters of marine fish-shellfish management and catch reporting areas 23C and 29 as defined in WAC 220-22-400 as of January 1, 2005.
     (6) "Crustacean management region 4" means all waters of marine fish-shellfish management and catch reporting areas 26B and 26C as defined in WAC 220-22-400 as of January 1, 2005.
     (7) "Crustacean management region 5" means all waters of marine fish-shellfish management and catch reporting areas 25C, 27A, 27B, and 27C as defined in WAC 220-22-400 as of January 1, 2005.
     (8) "Crustacean management region 6" means all waters of marine fish-shellfish management and catch reporting areas 26D, 28A, 28B, 28C, and 28D as defined in WAC 220-22-400 as of January 1, 2005.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 4   A new section is added to chapter 77.65 RCW to read as follows:
     The department shall manage the nontribal Dungeness crab allocation in Puget Sound according to the following schedule beginning not later than five years from the effective date of this section.
     (1) The recreational share of the nontribal Dungeness crab allocation in crustacean management region 1 must be no less than sixty percent.
     (2) The recreational share of the nontribal Dungeness crab allocation in crustacean management region 2 must be one hundred percent.
     (3) The recreational share of the nontribal Dungeness crab allocation in crustacean management region 3-1 must be zero percent.
     (4) The recreational share of the nontribal Dungeness crab allocation in crustacean management region 3-2 must be one hundred percent.
     (5) The recreational share of the nontribal Dungeness crab allocation in crustacean management region 3-3 must be one hundred percent.
     (6) The recreational share of the nontribal Dungeness crab allocation in crustacean management region 4 must be one hundred percent.
     (7) The recreational share of the nontribal Dungeness crab allocation in crustacean management region 5 must be one hundred percent.
     (8) The recreational share of the nontribal Dungeness crab allocation in crustacean management region 6 must be one hundred percent.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 5   A new section is added to chapter 77.65 RCW to read as follows:
     To allow for an orderly transfer of the nontribal Dungeness crab allocation schedule created in section 4 of this act, the department shall distribute the nontribal allocation of Puget Sound Dungeness crab in the following manner:
     (1) For the first season after the effective date of this section, the recreational share of the nontribal allocation must be as follows:
     (a) Twenty percent in crustacean management region 1;
     (b) Forty-five percent in crustacean management region 2;
     (c) Zero percent in crustacean management region 3-1;
     (d) Forty percent in crustacean management region 3-2;
     (e) Seventy-five percent in crustacean management region 3-3; and
     (f) One hundred percent in crustacean management regions 4, 5, and 6.
     (2) For the second season after the effective date of this section, the recreational share of the nontribal allocation must be as follows:
     (a) Thirty percent in crustacean management region 1;
     (b) Fifty-five percent in crustacean management region 2;
     (c) Zero percent in crustacean management region 3-1;
     (d) Fifty percent in crustacean management region 3-2;
     (e) Eighty percent in crustacean management region 3-3; and
     (f) One hundred percent in crustacean management regions 4, 5, and 6.
     (3) For the third season after the effective date of this section, the recreational share of the nontribal allocation must be as follows:
     (a) Forty percent in crustacean management region 1;
     (b) Sixty-five percent in crustacean management region 2;
     (c) Zero percent in crustacean management region 3-1;
     (d) Seventy percent in crustacean management region 3-2;
     (e) Eighty-five percent in crustacean management region 3-3; and
     (f) One hundred percent in crustacean management regions 4, 5, and 6.
     (4) For the fourth season after the effective date of this section, the recreational share of the nontribal allocation must be as follows:
     (a) Fifty percent in crustacean management region 1;
     (b) Eighty-five percent in crustacean management region 2;
     (c) Zero percent in crustacean management region 3-1;
     (d) Eighty percent in crustacean management region 3-2;
     (e) Ninety percent in crustacean management region 3-3; and
     (f) One hundred percent in crustacean management regions 4, 5, and 6.
     (5) For the fifth season after the effective date of this section and beyond, the recreational share of the nontribal allocation must be as provided in section 4 of this act.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 6   A new section is added to chapter 77.70 RCW to read as follows:
     (1) The Puget Sound commercial Dungeness crab license buyback account is created in the custody of the state treasurer. All receipts from moneys collected by the department under the Dungeness crab endorsement fee created in section 2 of this act and other gifts, grants, or donations specifically made to the account must be deposited into the account. Expenditures from the account may be used only for the purpose of purchasing nontribal Puget Sound commercial Dungeness crab licenses under the buyback program created in section 8 of this act and for other purposes as authorized by this section. Only the director of the department or the director's designee may authorize expenditures from the account. The account is subject to allotment procedures under chapter 43.88 RCW, but an appropriation is not required for expenditures. Any administrative costs accrued by the department must be paid for with funds made available to the department by subsection (4)(a) of this section.
     (2) The department shall provide a report on the Puget Sound commercial Dungeness crab license buyback account's balance, the number of licenses purchased, and any other pertinent information relating to the account and the buyback program created under section 8 of this act to the appropriate legislative committees on an annual basis.
     (3) Any funds remaining in the Puget Sound commercial Dungeness crab license buyback account after the completion of the buyback program, created in section 8 of this act, must be transferred to the recreational Dungeness crab endorsement account.
     (4) During the existence of the Puget Sound commercial Dungeness crab license buyback program, created in section 8 of this act, the revenues received from the sale of the Dungeness crab endorsement under section 1 of this act must be deposited in the following manner:
     (a) One hundred fifty thousand dollars of the revenue received each license year from the sale of the endorsement must be deposited in the recreational Dungeness crab endorsement account created in section 7 of this act.
     (b) The remainder of the revenue must be deposited in the Puget Sound commercial Dungeness crab license buyback account.
     (5) Moneys allocated under this section must supplement and not supplant other federal, state, and local funds used for Dungeness crab recreational fisheries management.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 7   A new section is added to chapter 77.70 RCW to read as follows:
     The recreational Dungeness crab endorsement account is created in the state treasury. All receipts realized from section 2 of this act must be deposited into the account, except as provided for in section 6 of this act. Moneys in the account may be spent only after appropriation. Expenditures from the account may be used only for costs associated with the buyback program created in section 8 of this act and the sampling, monitoring, and management of catch associated with the Dungeness crab recreational fisheries. Moneys appropriated under this section must supplement and not supplant other federal, state, and local funds used for Dungeness crab recreational fisheries management. Under no circumstances may moneys from the account be used to backfill shortfalls in other state funding sources.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 8   A new section is added to chapter 77.70 RCW to read as follows:
     (1) The department shall institute a license buyback program of nontribal Puget Sound commercial Dungeness crab licenses as required in subsection (4) of this section. The buyback program must begin January 1, 2006. The buyback program ends December 31, 2010, or until one hundred fifty licenses have been purchased, whichever comes first.
     (2) The department shall begin accepting license buyback applications for nontribal Puget Sound commercial Dungeness crab licenses starting January 1, 2006.
     (3) If there are more applications than available funding, a lottery system must be used to determine which license buyback applications will be honored.
     (a) The lottery drawing, if required, must be held the last weekday of August each year of the license buyback program.
     (b) The department shall notify all applicants by certified letter of those applications approved for purchase.
     (c) Notices must be mailed within five working days after the last working day of August.
     (d) The license holder has thirty calendar days from the date of the notification letter to surrender the commercial Dungeness crab license associated with the application.
     (e) The department shall issue checks for the appropriate amount for the license surrendered within thirty days of the surrender of the license.
     (4) The department shall purchase nontribal Puget Sound commercial Dungeness crab licenses using the following schedule:
     (a) For the first and second years of the buyback program, the purchase price is forty thousand dollars per license.
     (b) For the third and fourth years of the buyback program, the purchase price is thirty-five thousand dollars per license.
     (c) For the fifth year of the buyback program, the purchase price is thirty thousand dollars per license.
     (5) The department shall not reissue licenses purchased under buyback program or issue new licenses for Puget Sound Dungeness crab commercial fisheries.

Sec. 9   RCW 77.32.430 and 2004 c 107 s 2 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) Catch record card information is necessary for proper management of the state's food fish and game fish species and shellfish resources. Catch record card administration shall be under rules adopted by the commission. There is no charge for an initial catch record card. Each subsequent or duplicate catch record card costs ten dollars.
     (2) ((A license to take and possess Dungeness crab is only valid in Puget Sound waters east of the Bonilla-Tatoosh line if the fisher has in possession a valid catch record card officially endorsed for Dungeness crab. The endorsement shall cost no more than three dollars including any or all fees authorized under RCW 77.32.050.
     (3))) Catch record cards issued with affixed temporary short-term charter stamp licenses are not subject to the ten-dollar charge ((nor to the Dungeness crab endorsement fee)) provided for in this section. Charter boat or guide operators issuing temporary short-term charter stamp licenses shall affix the stamp to each catch record card issued before fishing commences. Catch record cards issued with a temporary short-term charter stamp are valid for two consecutive days.
     (((4))) (3) The department shall include provisions for recording marked and unmarked salmon in catch record cards issued after March 31, 2004.
     (((5))) (4) The funds received from the sale of catch record cards ((and the Dungeness crab endorsement)) must be deposited into the wildlife fund. ((The funds received from the Dungeness crab endorsement may be used only for the sampling, monitoring, and management of catch associated with the Dungeness crab recreational fisheries. Moneys allocated under this section shall supplement and not supplant other federal, state, and local funds used for Dungeness crab recreational fisheries management.))