BILL REQ. #:  H-4900.2 

READ FIRST TIME 02/03/06.   

     AN ACT Relating to geoduck harvesting; amending RCW 77.65.410; creating a new section; and providing an expiration date.

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

Sec. 1   RCW 77.65.410 and 1993 c 340 s 24 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) Every diver engaged in the commercial harvest of geoduck clams shall obtain a nontransferable geoduck diver license.
     (2) After July 1, 2006, the director may not issue new geoduck diver licenses. A person may renew an existing license only if the person held a geoduck diver license in 2004 and held a geoduck diver license for a minimum of five of the ten years from 1994 through 2003.
     (3) The director must revoke a geoduck diver license issued after January 1, 2006, that does not meet the criteria of subsections (1) and (2) of this section.
     (4) Geoduck diver licenses are not transferable. The license holder must perform the actual harvesting.
     (5) The director must revoke geoduck diver licenses that are not renewed by December 31st of each year.
     (6) A license may be reissued by the director if another license is surrendered for any reason at any time.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 2   (1) The department of fish and wildlife and the department of natural resources shall jointly evaluate the effects of the limited license provisions in RCW 77.65.410. The evaluation shall include, but not be limited to:
     (a) The adequacy of the number of licensed geoduck divers available to conduct commercial geoduck harvests;
     (b) The economic impact on the geoduck fishery, including the impact on state revenues;
     (c) The effect on harvest practices, including compliance with conditions stipulated in harvest contracts;
     (d) The economic impacts to licensed divers, including the average costs for securing divers for commercial harvest; and
     (e) The percentage of geoduck divers with health insurance and other employment-related benefits before and after the limited entry license.
     (2) The department of fish and wildlife and the department of natural resources shall report their findings and recommendations to the appropriate committees of the legislature by December 15, 2007.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 3   Section 1 of this act expires June 30, 2008.