| Passed by the House February 10, 2006 Yeas 98 ________________________________________ Speaker of the House of Representatives Passed by the Senate March 3, 2006 Yeas 49 ________________________________________ President of the Senate | I, Richard Nafziger, Chief Clerk of the House of Representatives of the State of Washington, do hereby certify that the attached is HOUSE BILL 2386 as passed by the House of Representatives and the Senate on the dates hereon set forth. ________________________________________ Chief Clerk | |
| Approved ________________________________________ Governor of the State of Washington | Secretary of State State of Washington |
| State of Washington | 59th Legislature | 2006 Regular Session |
Prefiled 12/29/2005. Read first time 01/09/2006. Referred to Committee on Natural Resources, Ecology & Parks.
AN ACT Relating to commercial geoduck harvesting; and amending RCW 77.60.070.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:
Sec. 1 RCW 77.60.070 and 2000 c 107 s 25 are each amended to read
as follows:
(1) The director may not authorize a person to take geoduck clams
for commercial purposes outside the harvest area designated in a
current department of natural resources geoduck harvesting agreement
issued under RCW ((79.96.080)) 79.135.210. The director may not
authorize commercial harvest of geoduck clams from bottoms that are
shallower than eighteen feet below mean lower low water (0.0. ft.)((,
or that lie in an area bounded by the line of ordinary high tide (mean
high tide) and)). Vessels conducting harvest operations must remain
seaward of a line two hundred yards seaward from and parallel to the
line of ordinary high tide. This section does not apply to the harvest
of private sector cultured aquatic products as defined in RCW
15.85.020.
(2) Commercial geoduck harvesting shall be done with a hand-held,
manually operated water jet or suction device guided and controlled
from under water by a diver. Periodically, the director shall
determine the effect of each type or unit of gear upon the geoduck
population or the substrate they inhabit. The director may require
modification of the gear or stop its use if it is being operated in a
wasteful or destructive manner or if its operation may cause permanent
damage to the bottom or adjacent shellfish populations.