BILL REQ. #:  H-3973.2 

Read first time 01/12/10.   Referred to Committee on Agriculture & Natural Resources.

     AN ACT Relating to developing a process for the department of fish and wildlife for proposing a new permit-only salmonid fishery for the Columbia river that promotes the harvest of hatchery-origin fish by utilizing fishing gear designed to maximize the harvest of hatchery-origin fish while minimizing the mortality to wild fish listed under the federal endangered species act; creating a new section; and providing an expiration date.

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

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 1   (1) The department of fish and wildlife shall develop a legislative proposal consistent with this section for consideration during the 2012 legislative session that would authorize a permit-only commercial salmonid fishery in the portion of the Columbia river between Cape Disappointment and the Bonneville dam using a fishing gear type currently not authorized for use in the area or for the species authorized in the new fishery.
     (2) The new fishery must be limited to one that at least partially affects a species or run of salmonid:
     (a) That is, as of the effective date of this section, listed as threatened or endangered under the federal endangered species act;
     (b) That is not meeting designated spawner and broodstock management objectives; and
     (c) For which a fish hatchery located in Washington is in operation that produces harvestable, externally marked fish that complements the naturally occurring in-migration of the targeted salmonid species.
     (3) The director of the department of fish and wildlife must utilize the authority provided in RCW 77.65.400 to initiate an experimental fishery that must be used to gather data and insight supporting the legislative proposal produced under this section.
     (4) The permit-only fishery proposed for creation in the legislative proposal produced under this section must promote the harvest of hatchery-origin fish by utilizing fishing gear designed to maximize the harvest of hatchery-origin fish while minimizing the mortality to wild fish listed under the federal endangered species act.
     (5) In implementing this section, the department of fish and wildlife must form and consult with a formal steering committee composed of individuals who are licensed to fish commercially for salmonid species in the Columbia river. The department of fish and wildlife may also invite representatives of tribal government, the federal government, the state of Oregon, and private citizens deemed by the director to have qualifications useful to the steering committee or the department.
     (6) The director of the department of fish and wildlife must initiate contact with the director of the agency for the state of Oregon with jurisdiction over commercial fishing in the Columbia river and invite the state of Oregon to participate in the process established in this section. If the state of Oregon agrees to participate, the Washington department of fish and wildlife must include Oregon as a full partner in the research and attempt to design the research questions in a manner that is useful to unified management between the two states on the Columbia river.
     (7) The final proposed legislation developed under this section must be delivered to the appropriate committees of the legislature, consistent with RCW 43.01.036, by November 21, 2011. The proposed legislative language must be accompanied by a formal supporting report designed to aid the legislature in its deliberations that contains, at a minimum, the following:
     (a) An explanation of the process or processes utilized to test the gear type or types included in the proposed legislation;
     (b) An assessment of the effectiveness and mortality rates of the gear type or types included in the proposed legislation, including an explanation of the methodology used to determine effectiveness and mortality and a comparison between the mortality rates of the tested gear types and that of fishing with gear types that rely on capture by hooks and physical sorting of the individual fish;
     (c) An assessment of the cost to the license holder of the gear type or types included in the proposed legislation, including the costs of any necessary vessel retrofitting, additional workforce, additional vessel hours, or other direct or indirect costs necessitated by the new gear type;
     (d) An assessment of the likelihood of success of any new proposed gear type based on its economic feasibility;
     (e) An approximation of the additional amount of hatchery fish, if any, that the new proposed gear type or types will allow a licensed fisher to retain;
     (f) The identification of barriers still existing to full implementation of a fishery based on the proposed gear types;
     (g) An assessment of the economic impact, positive or negative, that the proposed new fishery may have on the local communities situated adjacent to the affected portion of the Columbia river; and
     (h) A conclusion based on the lessons learned through the implementation of this section and additional proposed steps forward in maximizing the capture of hatchery fish.
     (8) Neither the department of fish and wildlife nor the fish and wildlife commission may authorize the use of any gear type for salmonid fishing on the Columbia river not allowed during the 2009 license year from the effective date of this section until July 31, 2012, unless the gear type allowance is part of the process established by this section.
     (9) This section expires July 31, 2012.