BILL REQ. #:  S-0853.1 

READ FIRST TIME 02/08/13.   

     AN ACT Relating to labeling of seafood; amending RCW 69.04.060, 69.04.928, 69.04.932, 69.04.933, 69.04.934, and 69.04.935; adding a new section to chapter 69.04 RCW; repealing RCW 69.04.315; and prescribing penalties.

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

Sec. 1   RCW 69.04.060 and 2003 c 53 s 314 are each amended to read as follows:
     Except as otherwise provided in this chapter, any person who violates any provision of RCW 69.04.040 is guilty of a misdemeanor and shall on conviction thereof be subject to the following penalties:
     (1) A fine of not more than two hundred dollars; or
     (2) If the violation is committed after a conviction of such person under this section has become final, imprisonment for not more than thirty days, or a fine of not more than five hundred dollars, or both such imprisonment and fine.

Sec. 2   RCW 69.04.928 and 2002 c 301 s 11 are each amended to read as follows:
     The department of agriculture ((must)) may:
     (1) Develop a pamphlet that generally describes the labeling requirements for seafood((,)) as set forth in this chapter((, and));
     (2) Provide ((an adequate quantity of)) to the department of fish and wildlife a website link to the pamphlet((s to the department of fish and wildlife to distribute with the issuance of a direct retail endorsement under RCW 77.65.510)); and
     (3) Make the pamphlet available to holders of any license associated with buying and selling fish or shellfish under chapter 77.65 RCW.

Sec. 3   RCW 69.04.932 and 1993 c 282 s 2 are each amended to read as follows:
     ((Unless the context clearly requires otherwise,)) The definitions in this section apply throughout ((RCW 69.04.933 through 69.04.935)) this chapter unless the context clearly requires otherwise.
     (1) "Commercially caught" means wild or hatchery-raised salmon harvested in the wild by commercial fishers. The term does not apply to farmed fish raised exclusively by private sector aquaculture.
     (2) "Food fish" means fresh or saltwater finfish and other forms of aquatic animal life other than crustaceans, mollusks, birds, and mammals where the animal life is intended for human consumption.
     (3) "Salmon" means all species of the genus Oncorhynchus, except those classified as game fish in ((Title 77)) RCW 77.08.020, and includes:

Sec. 4   RCW 69.04.933 and 1993 c 282 s 3 are each amended to read as follows:
     ((With the exception of a commercial fisher engaged in sales of fish to a fish buyer, no person may sell)) (1) It is unlawful to knowingly sell or offer for sale at wholesale or retail any fresh ((or)), frozen ((salmon)), or processed food fish or ((cultured aquatic salmon)) shellfish without identifying for the buyer at the point of sale the species of ((salmon)) food fish or shellfish by its common name ((to the buyer at the point of sale)), such that the buyer can make an informed purchasing decision ((in purchasing)) for his or her protection, health, and safety. ((A person knowingly violating this section is guilty of misbranding under this chapter. A person who receives misleading or erroneous information about the species of salmon and subsequently inaccurately identifies salmon shall not be guilty of misbranding. This section shall not apply to salmon that is minced, pulverized, coated with batter, or breaded.))
     (2) It is unlawful to knowingly label or offer for sale any food fish designated as halibut, with or without additional descriptive words, unless the food fish product is Hippoglossus hippoglossus or Hippoglossus stenolepsis.
     (3) This section does not apply to salmon that is minced, pulverized, coated with batter, or breaded.
     (4) This section does not apply to a commercial fisher properly licensed under chapter 77.65 RCW and engaged in sales of fish to a fish buyer.
     (5) A violation of this section constitutes misbranding under section 7 of this act and is punishable as a misdemeanor, gross misdemeanor, or felony depending on the fair market value of the fish or shellfish involved in the violation.
     (6)(a) The common names for salmon species are as listed in RCW 69.04.932.
     (b) The common names for all other food fish and shellfish are the common names for food fish and shellfish species as defined by rule of the director. If the common name for a species is not defined by rule of the director, then the common name is the acceptable market name or common name as provided in the United States food and drug administration's publication "Seafood list - FDA's guide to acceptable market names for seafood sold in interstate commerce," as the publication existed on the effective date of this section.
     (7) For the purposes of this section, "processed" means food fish or shellfish processed by heat for human consumption, such as food fish or shellfish that is kippered, smoked, boiled, canned, cleaned, portioned, or prepared for sale or attempted sale for human consumption.
     (8) Nothing in this section precludes using additional descriptive language or trade names to describe food fish or shellfish as long as the labeling requirements in this section are met.

Sec. 5   RCW 69.04.934 and 2003 c 39 s 29 are each amended to read as follows:
     ((With the exception of a commercial fisher engaged in sales of fish to a fish buyer, no person may sell at wholesale or retail any fresh or frozen:))
     (1) It is unlawful to knowingly sell or offer for sale at wholesale or retail any fresh, frozen, or processed salmon without identifying private sector cultured aquatic salmon ((without identifying the)) or salmon products as farm-raised salmon((; or
     (2))), or identifying commercially caught salmon ((designated as food fish under Title 77 RCW without identifying the)) or salmon products as commercially caught salmon.
     (2) Identification of the products under subsection((s)) (1) ((and (2))) of this section ((shall)) must be made to the buyer at the point of sale such that the buyer can make an informed purchasing decision ((in purchasing)) for his or her protection, health, and safety.
     (3) A ((person knowingly violating)) violation of this section ((is guilty of)) constitutes misbranding under ((this chapter. A person who receives misleading or erroneous information about whether the salmon is farm-raised or commercially caught, and subsequently inaccurately identifies salmon shall not be guilty of misbranding)) section 7 of this act and is punishable as a misdemeanor, gross misdemeanor, or felony depending on the fair market value of the fish or shellfish involved in the violation.
     (4) This section ((shall)) does not apply to salmon that is minced, pulverized, coated with batter, or breaded.
     (5) This section does not apply to a commercial fisher properly licensed under chapter 77.65 RCW and lawfully engaged in the sale of fish to a fish buyer.
     (6) Nothing in this section precludes using additional descriptive language or trade names to describe food fish or shellfish as long as the labeling requirements of this section are met.

Sec. 6   RCW 69.04.935 and 1994 c 264 s 39 are each amended to read as follows:
     To promote honesty and fair dealing for consumers and to protect public health and safety, the director, in consultation with the director of the department of fish and wildlife, ((shall)) may adopt rules as necessary to:
     (1) ((Fixing and establishing)) Establish and implement a reasonable definition and identification standard ((of identity for salmon for purposes of identifying and selling salmon)) for species of food fish and shellfish that are sold for human consumption;
     (2) ((Enforcing RCW 69.04.933 and 69.04.934)) Provide procedures for enforcing this chapter's food fish and shellfish labeling requirements and misbranding prohibitions.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 7   A new section is added to chapter 69.04 RCW to read as follows:
     (1) A person is guilty of unlawful misbranding of food fish or shellfish in the third degree if the person commits an act that violates RCW 69.04.933 or 69.04.934, and the misbranding involves food fish or shellfish with a fair market value up to five hundred dollars. Unlawful misbranding of food fish or shellfish in the third degree is a misdemeanor.
     (2) A person is guilty of unlawful misbranding of food fish or shellfish in the second degree if the person commits an act that violates RCW 69.04.933 or 69.04.934, and the misbranding involves food fish or shellfish with a fair market value of five hundred dollars or more, up to five thousand dollars. Unlawful misbranding of food fish or shellfish in the second degree is a gross misdemeanor.
     (3) A person is guilty of unlawful misbranding of food fish or shellfish in the first degree if the person commits an act that violates RCW 69.04.933 or 69.04.934, and the misbranding involves food fish or shellfish with a fair market value of five thousand dollars or more. Unlawful misbranding of food fish or shellfish in the first degree is a class C felony.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 8   RCW 69.04.315 (Halibut -- Misbranding by failure to show proper name) and 1967 ex.s. c 79 s 1 are each repealed.